Milkweed trees are a familiar feature of Hanoi’s autumn, when their blossoms fill the air with a distinctive fragrance. 

But the scent has sparked debate in recent days, with some residents enjoying it while others complain that it becomes overpowering when the trees bloom in large numbers, prompting local authorities to take action.

On Friday morning, Hanoi’s Technical Infrastructure Management Center, under the municipal Department of Construction, instructed tree maintenance units to trim milkweed flowers along several streets following complaints about their strong scent.

Carefully snipping clusters of milkweed blossoms

According to Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper reporters, workers arrived with a specialized lift to trim milkweed trees along Trung Hoa Street on Friday morning. 

From the lift, they used scissors to carefully snip off individual clusters of blossoms, thinning the flowers on the trees to reduce their strong scent.

Nguyen Thi Ngan, 53, a tree-trimming worker, said it was the first time in her career that she had trimmed milkweed flowers cluster by cluster, rather than cutting branches or removing entire trees.

“We’re used to the scent of milkweed, so we find it very fragrant,” she said.

Le, who works as a parking attendant on Trung Hoa Street, said that in her experience, milkweed flowers tend to release their scent in the evening, while the smell is less noticeable during the day.

“I’m used to working here, so I find the scent pleasant and the blossoms beautiful. I don’t see a problem with them. Two years ago, when a major storm hit Hanoi, not a single milkweed tree along this entire stretch of road fell,” she said.

Meanwhile, Tuan, a security guard on Trung Hoa Street, supported trimming the blossoms to reduce their strong scent.

“The milkweed trees are beautiful, but their scent can be overwhelming when there are too many flowers, so I think trimming them back makes sense. A faint fragrance is pleasant, but too much can be uncomfortable,” he said.

Workers and machinery were also deployed on Friday morning to trim milkweed blossoms along Dao Tan Street and several other roads in Hanoi.

Trimming from morning till night

Milkweed blossom trimming was scheduled for Friday morning along Dao Tan, Kim Ma, Le Thanh Nghi, Trung Hoa, Le Quang Dao, Ho Tung Mau, Tran Phu, Quang Trung, and Hoang Nhu Tiep Streets, among others.

Crews were also expected to trim milkweed blossoms on Nguyen Hong and Tan Mai Streets in the same evening.

On Wednesday, Hanoi vice-chairman Truong Viet Dung tasked the municipal Department of Construction with urgently reviewing streets and residential areas where dense milkweed trees were affecting residents’ lives, in coordination with local authorities and relevant agencies.

The city also called for proposals to relocate some milkweed trees to more suitable locations and plant replacement species, while preserving the urban landscape and aligning with approved plans for the city’s green spaces.

The measures are meant to improve living conditions and protect public health while preserving milkweed trees as a distinctive feature of Hanoi.

These include selectively trimming clusters of blossoms where necessary, alongside other tree care and maintenance measures.