In the Forests of Mã Đà, a Billion-VND Orchid Garden Blooms

In the Forests of Mã Đà, a Billion-VND Orchid Garden Blooms

Deep in the Mã Đà forest of the historic Chiến Khu Đ resistance zone (Vĩnh Cửu District, Đồng Nai Province), there lies a multicolored wild orchid garden worth tens of billions of VND, leaving many in awe. What’s even more surprising is that the owner of this billion-VND orchid farm is a young man originally from the capital city of Hanoi.

Leaving the City in Pursuit of a Floral Dream

Four years ago, Trần Thanh Tùng made a bold decision: he gave up his position as a bank branch manager with a salary of over 30 million VND per month and left Hanoi to head south in search of land to grow orchids.

Born and raised in Hanoi, Tùng graduated from the Academy of Finance and quickly found a well-suited job near his home. After over 10 years of working, he was promoted to branch manager.

“Back then, I worked during the day and took care of a few baskets of wild orchids in the evening. I realized I had a ‘green thumb’ — the orchids flourished and propagated easily. That’s when I fell in love. I dreamed of having a small orchid garden where I could breed different varieties, do business, and share this passion with others,” Tùng shared.

He spent more than four grueling months traveling across provinces — from the Mekong Delta (Đồng Tháp, Long An) to the Central Highlands (Lâm Đồng) and the Southeast (Bình Phước, Củ Chi, Ho Chi Minh City) — before finally settling on a piece of land in Mã Đà Commune.

“Within a 150km radius of Ho Chi Minh City, there’s no place more ideal than Trị An Lake. It has both forest and water, cool climate, and fresh air,” he explained.

On a 6-hectare mango orchard, Tùng decided to cut down 2 hectares of fruit-bearing trees to build greenhouses for common orchid varieties like Kieu Tim, Que Lan Huong, Kiem Tien Vu, and Nghinh Xuan.

During a trip to Đà Lạt, he saw a large demand for orchid seedlings. Every day, nurseries from all over brought thousands of pots to Đà Lạt to be grown and sold. Tùng pivoted his business to breeding and hybridizing rare and mutated orchid species.

Starting with 100 pots of parent orchids, he self-pollinated, harvested seeds, dried them, and began germinating. The orchid population multiplied exponentially.

Today, his garden regularly maintains around 10,000 seedling pots and nearly 1,000 ornamental and wild orchid pots — some of which are rare hybrids worth billions of VND. Not only does he breed and sell orchids, but he also masters techniques to manipulate blooming cycles, making him a favorite supplier for orchid enthusiasts and nursery owners in Đà Lạt.

In 2019, revenue from selling rare orchids alone reached several billion VND. Tùng reinvested this into purchasing new varieties, expanding inventory, building irrigation systems, installing fans, and surveillance cameras across the nursery.

"Without Determination, I Would Have Quit"

Tùng reflected on the hardships behind his flourishing orchid empire. For four months, he rented a small room in Ho Chi Minh City and took buses across provinces to search for land. Sunburnt and financially strapped, he had to ask friends for help, as his family refused to support what they saw as an unwise endeavor.

He even got lost in the forests and fields more than once. In the early days, due to lack of proper technique, many orchids succumbed to fungal and bacterial infections. Tùng had to hire someone to guard the garden while he spent two months in Đà Lạt learning from local experts.

There were days when he carried dozens of orchid seedlings door to door, introducing them to ornamental and flower-growing nurseries in Đà Lạt.

To fund his orchid business, he also diversified: excavating a 0.5-hectare pond to raise fish, keeping nearly 2,000 egg-laying ducks, and planting 2.6 hectares of pomelo trees as a short-to-mid-term investment.

He made full use of byproducts such as dead plant material, immature pomelos, broken duck eggs, small fish, and duck manure to produce organic fertilizer for the orchids.

Tùng also crafted his own organic pesticide using spicy ingredients like garlic, chili, and ginger, fermented with probiotics. He built raised platforms 1–1.5 meters above the ground to hang orchid baskets and used mesh screens around the garden to block harsh sunlight, heavy rain, and insect attacks.

Looking ahead, he plans to expand the orchid breeding area and develop new mutated orchid varieties to boost income. On the remaining land, he plans to cultivate black ginger (a medicinal herb known as “Thai ginseng”).

“I’ve tested black ginger here, and the soil seems ideal with high yield. I’ve already got buyers lined up and plan to plant 1 hectare by the end of this rainy season. If things go well, I’ll grow more under the pomelo trees,” Tùng shared.

When asked if he ever plans to return to Hanoi, Tùng said his dream has outgrown its youthful roots. It is no longer just a passion project or a personal escape. He now envisions transforming his 6-hectare property into a model organic farm in Vĩnh Cửu.

There, he’ll grow various crops, raise poultry and aquatic species to create his own bio-fertilizers and natural plant treatments. It will serve as both a local attraction and an educational center — a place where he can share his experiences in sustainable farming with other enthusiasts and local residents.

By Hoàng Lộc – Đồng Nai Newspaper