Vietnam is a land of brilliant flowers, naturally blessed with a warm and humid monsoon climate. As each season passes, nature puts on a new coat with flowers of different colors. Below is an ultimate guide to exploring Vietnam flower seasons, with information about their characteristics, blooming areas, best viewing times, and cultural significance.
January: Peach Blossom in the North and Yellow Apricot Blossom in the South
Peach Blossom
Blooming in late winter and early spring in the North, peach blossoms dye the mountains and forests of the Northwest and the streets of Hanoi pink. Around January and February, peach blossoms bloom in forests and mountains, attracting tourists from the Northwest. The bright red peach blossom is considered the essence of the Five Elements, which can drive away evil spirits and usher in a peaceful and happy New Year. For northerners, the red peach branches during the Lunar New Year symbolize good luck, fertility, and prosperity for the new year.
Peach blossoms in spring
Yellow Apricot Blossom
If the Northerners consider the peach blossom to be the symbol of spring, the same applies to the yellow apricot blossom in the South. In the South, yellow apricot blossoms are considered the “soul” of spring and a symbol of longevity and the five blessings, which are happiness, prosperity, longevity, health, and peace. Every Tet holiday, Southern families choose pots of apricot blossoms with many buds, blooming right on New Year’s Eve with bright yellow color, to decorate their homes, wishing for luck and prosperity throughout the year. Tradition holds that apricot blossoms blooming right on Tet are a good omen; the longer the flowers bloom, the more prosperous the homeowner will be.
Yellow apricot blossoms in spring
February: Bauhinia (Ban flowers) and Plum Blossom
Bauhinia
In the warm weather of February, the forests in the northwest are illuminated by white bauhinia covering the slopes and valleys. The blooming bauhinia signals the coming of spring, spreading their fragrance throughout the region, and the Thai people believe that the blooming flowers throughout the mountains and forests are a sign of a bountiful harvest and favorable weather. Bauhinia flowers come in many colors (white, purple, and red), but the most popular is the pure white Ban.
Bauhinia (Ban flower)
If you have the opportunity to visit Son La or Dien Bien in late spring, you will be immersed in the pure white beauty of the Bauhinia forest. The pure white color of the Northwest bauhinia flowers is also associated with poetic love stories in the mountains and forests in Thai ethnic culture, making this flower a symbol of loyal love and vitality in the mountainous region.
Plum Blossom
Late winter and early spring are also the seasons of white plum blossoms in the forests of the northern highlands. In Moc Chau (Son La), January and February are when the plum valleys are in full bloom, covering the hillsides like a pure white coat on the plateau. Plum blossoms often bloom and fade very quickly (only about 2-3 weeks), so the ideal time to admire them is early February, when the whole of Moc Chau is covered in white plum and apricot blossoms. The pure white beauty of Moc Chau plum forests signals the coming of spring, making visitors surprised and nostalgic for the spring in the northwest.
Plum Blossom
March: Red rice flower and Sua flower
Red rice flower (Hoa Gao)
In March, the entire northern plain and central region are brilliant with red rice flowers. Rice flowers (also known as kapok flowers) bloom in late spring, usually from March to early April. When the rice tree loses its leaves, bright orange-red flowers appear in the blue sky. The image of a “red rice tree in the corner of the communal house” with its bright red flower canopy has entered many poems, evoking memories of peaceful villages. This is the flower of March memories; the color of the flowers lights up the fire, signaling the transition from spring to summer, adorning the countryside of the North with a beauty that is both brilliant and nostalgic.
Bombax (Rice flower)
Sua flower
In the late days of March in Hanoi, you will see streets lit up by pure white Sua flowers. Sua flowers are a special flower that only blooms once a year, and the blooming time is very short, about 1-2 weeks when the weather is still chilly in the late spring. Throughout the year, Sua trees are quiet; when they bloom, the young leaves also pop out, blending with the tiny white flowers to create a rare pure beauty.
Sua flower
In Hanoi, Sua flowers are no concentrated in one place but are scattered on many streets. You have to come right when the flowers are in full bloom to see the unique beauty of this flower. Around the end of March, walking around Giang Vo Lake or Thanh Nien Street, you will see white Sua flower arches “dying” a corner of the capital’s sky. The fleeting appearance of Sua flowers makes flower lovers take advantage of every day to capture the pure moments of spring.
April: Easter Lily and Coffee Blossom
Easter Lily
Considered the “flower of April”, lily easter only blooms once a year, every early April. Although not as bright or fragrant as many other flowers, the simple white color creates a very unique pure beauty for the lily. Each bunch of lilies with pure white flowers and dark green leaves on street vendors has become a gentle highlight on the streets of Hanoi every April. Lilies are also a symbol of innocence and purity, conquering people’s hearts with their pure beauty but no less elegant and noble. Every April morning, the streets of Hanoi are filled with the white color of lilies and the light fragrance carried in the wind, signaling the coming summer and evoking many feelings of nostalgia for Hanoians far from home.
Easter Lily
Coffee Blossom
April is also the season when coffee flowers bloom on the red basalt plateau in the Central Highlands. At the end of the dry season and the beginning of the rainy season (around March-April), the coffee fields from Dak Lak, Gia Lai, to Lam Dong suddenly turn white with countless small, pretty coffee flowers. The pure beauty of coffee flowers surprises many visitors because few people think that this flower in the middle of the windy and sunny wilderness is so beautiful and fragrant. The flowers bloom in clusters of pure white on the branches, giving off a gentle scent like jasmine, signaling the beginning of a new coffee crop. If you visit the coffee-growing areas during the flowering season (late March or early April), you will have the opportunity to admire the “white snow” on the fields and feel the natural coffee aroma spreading throughout the space—a unique experience worth trying in the Central Highlands.
Coffee Blossom
May: Flamboyant flower and Giant Crape-myrtle flower
Flamboyant flower
When mentioning May, we cannot help but mention the season of flamboyant flowers burning on schoolyards and streets. When the flamboyant flower blooms, it is also the time when summer truly begins, signaling the day of farewell to student life is near. The clusters of flamboyant flowers as red as fire burning the sky are associated with many generations of students across the country.
Every May in Hai Phong, known as the “city of flamboyant,” the streets are illuminated with the brilliant red of flamboyant flowers, creating a scene that is both majestic and poetic. Flamboyant flowers have therefore become a symbol of student life, recalling memories of the schoolyard, and often appear in poetry, music, and painting as a sign of a vibrant youth.
Flamboyant flower
Giant Crapemyrtle flower
At the same time as flamboyant flowers bloom, giant crape-myrtle flowers bloom in late spring and early summer with a faithful purple color. May is also the time when the purple giant crapemyrtle arches begin to color many roads and street corners, from urban to rural areas. The gentle purple color of the giant crapmyrtle flower reminds people of their innocent first love in their student days, so this flower is associated with memories of white clothes, just like the phoenix flower.
From Hanoi, and Hue to Saigon, beautiful scenery can be seen almost every summer, making summer painting in Vietnam even more romantic. The companionship of flamboyant flowers and giant crape-myrtle flowers decorated the summer with two warm and dreamy colors, leaving an unforgettable impression in the hearts of those who enjoy it.
Giant Crapemyrtle flower
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June: Golden Shower Flower
Entering June, the red of flamboyant flowers and purple of giant crape-myrtle flowers still linger, but the summer space is even hotter with the appearance of the bright yellow of golden shower flowers. Golden shower flowers bloom in early summer in many places, especially on the streets and parks in Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City. The clusters of yellow flowers hanging down create a sparkling curtain of flowers under the summer sun.
Golden Shower Flower
For many people, the image of yellow butterfly petals flying gently in the wind evokes many happy and sad memories of student days, making the heart flutter. Although this flower is not as famous as flamboyant, it has a gentle beauty, embellishing the romantic and warm space in the middle of summer. If you visit Hanoi in June, you can see the golden shower flowers blooming on familiar streets, blending with the buzzing sound, and forming a very unique summer symphony.
July: Lotus
July is the time when lotus ponds bloom, spreading their pure fragrance throughout the country. The lotus is considered the national flower of Vietnam, and the lotus season in July is when this national flower shines most brilliantly in the water. In all lakes from North to South, pink and white lotuses compete to show off their colors among the cool green leaves, spreading their gentle fragrance in the hot late summer sun.
Lotus: The national flower of Vietnam
In Hanoi, West Lake Lotus Pond is a famous place to enjoy lotus. In June and July, people and tourists can stroll and take photos next to the fragrant lotus ponds during the peak summer days. In the south, the immense lotus fields in Dong Thap Muoi also bloom all year round, especially during the flood season. Dong Thap province is famous for its “lotus fields covering the whole region”, where the most beautiful lotus flowers are born (the folk song “Thap Muoi has the most beautiful lotus” is about this region). In Vietnamese culture, the lotus flower symbolizes a noble, pure, yet strong beauty—”close to the mud but not tainted by its smell” – expressing the resilient spirit and pure soul of the Vietnamese people. The lotus is present in life from cuisine (lotus tea, lotus jam, lotus seeds) to religion (flowers offered to Buddha), and the lotus blooming season in July is a great opportunity to fully experience the beauty and symbolic meaning of this flower.
August: Sunflower
As the summer flowers fade, August brings the brilliant yellow of sunflowers, the flower that always turns towards the sun. In late summer and early autumn, many sunflower fields are planted to bloom. In addition to the famous immense sunflower field in Nghe An, people in the north can also admire this sea of yellow flowers at the Co Phap Pagoda flower garden (Bac Ninh) around August. The large, bright yellow sunflowers, reaching high above people’s heads, create a very impressive scene under the autumn sun. Sunflowers usually bloom for 1-2 months, depending on the planting season.
Sunflower
In culture, sunflowers symbolize optimism, kindness, always turning towards the sunlight, so many people like to grow them as ornamental plants and give them to each other as bright bunches of sunflowers on flower stands on the streets of Hanoi or Saigon, bringing a bit of the bright yellow sunshine of August to every home.
September: Milkwood flower and Chrysanthemum
Milkwood flower
In early September, Hanoi begins to be filled with the scent of milk flowers. For a long time, milk flowers have been considered a typical flower of autumn, especially in Hanoi. Milk flowers are not brilliant in color (only tiny clusters of white and green flowers), nor do they show off their shape, but their passionate fragrance captures the hearts of many Hanoians and tourists. Usually in late September to October, when the weather starts to get cold, streets like Nguyen Du, Quang Trung, and Thuy Khe are filled with the scent of milk flowers at night, evoking the unique feeling of nostalgia and excitement of the northern autumn. Milk flowers also appear in poetry and music (such as the song “Scent of Milk Flowers” by musician Hong Dang as a symbol of romantic Hanoi autumn, associated with memories of ancient streets in thin mist and the scent of flowers wafting throughout the space.
Milkwood flower
Chrysanthemums
Besides milk flowers, Hanoi’s autumn is also marked by the brilliant yellow chrysanthemums. From around September, many types of chrysanthemums begin to bloom. Clumps of yellow and white chrysanthemums blooming under the autumn sun create a bright highlight in the romantic scene. Chrysanthemums have long been a source of inspiration in poetry and music every autumn: “Golden autumn chrysanthemums” —a song depicting the image of autumn associated with the gentle color of chrysanthemums.
Colorful chrysanthemums
In East Asian culture, chrysanthemums are one of the four noble flowers (pine, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and apricot), symbolizing autumn and the qualities of longevity and nobility. Vietnamese people often grow yellow chrysanthemums as decorative flowers and offer them to Buddha and ancestors in autumn and winter. In particular, around late autumn (October to November), Hanoi has a season of pure white chrysanthemums – small, pretty wild chrysanthemums that only bloom for a few weeks, signaling the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, which many people look forward to. The appearance of chrysanthemums in late September and October makes autumn more romantic and melancholy, reminding us that the year is gradually coming to an end.
October: Buckwheat flower
In October, the Dong Van stone plateau in Ha Giang is filled with buckwheat flowers. This small flower is planted in late summer and blooms in full bloom in late October and early November, spreading across the valleys and mountain slopes from Quan Ba, Yen Minh, to Dong Van, Meo Vac. The flowering season lasts about a month and then fades; the flowers first bloom white, then gradually turn to light pink, light purple, and finally dark red. That magical color change delights visitors, who compare the buckwheat fields to a rainbow silk strip across the mountains and forests.
Buckwheat flower in Ha Giang
Today, buckwheat has become an attractive “check-in” spot every autumn, the buckwheat flower festival is often held in Ha Giang in mid-October, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to visit. From a wildflower (grown as a side dish, seeds for making cakes), buckwheat is now considered a new “cultural specialty” of Ha Giang every autumn. The gentle flower fields amidst the vast gray rocks are not only beautiful but also closely associated with the lives of the indigenous people, demonstrating the strong vitality rising from the barren plateau.
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November: Wild daisy and Wild sunflower
Wild daisy
In early November, Hanoi welcomes the season of pure wild daisies. This is a small, fragile flower that blooms only once a year in November when the first cold winds of the season blow. Daisies bloom like “white snow clouds” in Nhat Tan gardens, the Red River stone beach, and follow street vendors down the street, signaling that winter is very near. The flower season comes and goes quickly within a few weeks, making many flower lovers eagerly wait and take the opportunity to capture beautiful moments of this pure flower. Daisies not only decorate the scenery of Hanoi in late autumn and early winter but also enter people’s hearts as a symbol of purity and humidity. Many young people choose to take photos with daisies to preserve the innocent beauty of youth.
Wild daisy
Wild sunflower
When winter approaches in the north, wild sunflowers begin to bloom, signaling the cold season. Wild sunflowers are famous on the hillsides of the central highlands or the roads of Da Lat, but near Hanoi, you can also admire this “winter herald” flower that always blooms in time at Ba Vi National Park. In Ba Vi (Hanoi), wild sunflowers only bloom for about 10 days to 2 weeks, starting from mid-November. The entire hillside is covered in brilliant yellow flowers, attracting many tourists to visit and take pictures. The bright yellow wild sunflowers, with wide petals, stretch out under the weak winter sun, creating a scene that is both wild and romantic.
Wild sunflower
Around the end of November, many places in the northwest (such as Dien Bien, and Son La) and the central highlands also enter the wild sunflower season. Especially in Da Lat, the wild sunflowers symbolize strong vitality and faithful love in folklore, and bloom at the time of changing seasons, so they are often likened to the call of winter in the mountains and forests.
December: Mustard flower and Dahlia flower
Mustard flower
In December, when winter comes, the bright yellow mustard fields spread across the mountain slopes in the northern highlands. In Sapa (Lao Cai), early winter is when the yellow mustard flowers bloom, covering the fields and roadsides in gold, making the whole town look like it is wearing a bright yellow coat. This “golden season” scene turns the cold Sapa into an attractive destination, in which everyone wants to see the brilliant canola hills in the winter sun.
Yellow mustard flower in Sapa
In Moc Chau (Son La), white mustard flowers are the “specialty” of winter. In late November and early December, the entire Moc Chau plateau lights up with the pure white color of mustard flowers spreading across the valleys and villages. The mustard flowers here bloom densely, the tiny flowers like white clouds landing on the fields, creating a poetic landscape that attracts many tourists to “hunt for photos”. The mustard flower season in the north does not last long, usually only about 3-4 weeks at the end of the year, so everyone takes the opportunity to go and admire and take pictures before the flowers fade.
White mustard flower in Moc Chau, Son La
Dahlia
December also brings us colorful flowers to prepare for the coming of spring. A typical example is the dahlia – a colorful winter flower that was once very popular during the Tet holiday in the past. At the end of the year, every family’s flower garden is brilliant with rows of dahlia in all colors: red, pink, yellow, purple… Dahlia blooms most beautifully in December and lasts until January, coinciding with the New Year and the Lunar New Year. This is considered a flower that “remains for generations” – once a familiar choice to decorate the traditional Tet space of Vietnamese people.
Nowadays, dahlias are no longer as popular as before but are still grown by many gardeners in Nhat Tan, Tay Tuu (Hanoi) to serve Tet. The brilliant colors of dahlias dotted the atmosphere of the coming spring. Besides dahlias, some other flowers also bloom in late winter such as poinsettias or purple violets. All together welcome spring with a variety of colors and scents, closing a cycle of four brilliant seasons in Vietnam.
Dahlia
In conclusion, each month, the S-shaped land presents unique flowers, ranging from the fresh pink of northern peach blossoms symbolizing spring to the bright yellow of southern plum blossoms during the spring. Or the vast buckwheat fields in Ha Giang in October, creating a stunning natural picture. Exploring the flower seasons not only brings a unique visual experience but also helps you understand more deeply the culture and life of each region. Plan your trip and experience the diverse beauty of Vietnam’s flower season by contacting us now!
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This article is very detailed. I have been in Vietnam for over a year, and Hanoi has many flower seasons. It’s March now, and the streets are full of Bauhinia and Sua flowers. Never stop being amazed at the beauty of Hanoi streets!
Hi Élodie, thank you so much for sharing that! Hanoi really does know how to show off in every season. It’s amazing how even after a year, Hanoi still finds new ways to surprise you. Hope you’re enjoying every moment!