5 Great Ways to Save on Valentine's Day Flowers

It happens every year.

Every year in the 20 years I've been in the flower business.

Prices go up.

Big time.

Costs go up right from the farmer to the wholesaler to the retailer, and ultimately to our customers.

To help our customers, I've come up with 5 ways to save money on Valentine's Day flowers:

1. Avoid red roses. Go with pink roses or yellow roses instead. The price increase will not be nearly as high.
2. Avoid red "anything". Red roses, red carnations, red gerbera daisies...everything red goes up drastically.
3. Send a mixed flower arrangement. Maybe a couple of red roses, together with fragrant lilies, asters and greenery results in a stunning visual arrangement at a lower cost.
4. Order online. I encourage customers to order online, and even provide a price break on online flower orders of $5.00 to $10.00. It's much faster for us to process an online order compared to a phone order. We pass the labour savings on to you.
5. Order early. Valentine's Day flower deliveries are 5 to 6 times that of a regular business day.. There are only so many flowers, designers, and delivery drivers available. I've had last minute customers offer $50 for delivery if we could just get something delivered. But that's hard to do, when there are no flowers left.

For Canada wide savings on Valentine's Day flowers, please check out our Simon Says Roses Florists YouTube video below.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

For your Valentines Day flowers, order online at Simon Says Roses or call us at 1-800-705-ROSE(7673).

6 Ways I Prepare Flowers and Save You Money

So your Colombian roses have made the long trip from South America, through Miami, and have landed at the doors of Simon Says Roses.

But here's the problem.

The roses arrive in a box.

A box of 10 bundles of 25 stems.

And they're not in water.

A dry rose is a dead rose.

Here are 6 ways that I properly prepare flowers for retail sale, and save you money because your flowers will last MUCH longer:

1. First, each stem is re-cut. I take off about 1/4". I cut on an angle, otherwise the stem sits flush in the bottom of a pail, and can't absorb liquid. Cutting is like removing a scab. It creates an opening, for water to be absorbed.
2. The bundles of 25 roses are then placed in a hydration solution for 24 hours. Remember, the roses have been shipped in a refrigerated, dark truck. They are basically asleep. The hydration solution is a chemical mix that allows the roses to "wake-up", and start absorbing liquid up the stem to nourish the blooms.
3.  I then put the rose pails into our flower cooler. The cooler is specially designed to maintain a temperature of 34-38 degrees Celsius, with 85% humidity. It's key to remember that roses stored in a floral cooler will last 6 times longer than roses stored at room temperature.
4. Now that the roses are awake, they are moved from the hydration pail into a flower food pail. The flower food is a mix of ph enhancer to change the water acidity, an anti-bacterial agent to kill off unwanted organisms, and a nutrient to literally "feed" the bloom.
5. It's now time to actually prepare the roses for sale. As each bundle of roses is opened, there will be 2 or 3 "protective petals" which look worn and discoloured. These petals have protected the bloom as it was growing. They have taken the brunt of wind and rain over time, but they really don't look very good. And we do want good-looking roses, so off they come!
6. Some florists (and I'm not one of them), prefer do de-thorn a rose so the customer won't get pricked. The solution is...simply be careful. Aesthetics are one thing, but removing a thorn too close to the stem will injure the rose. And to cure an injury, a scab is formed. And roses can't absorb water through a scab...leading to premature death.

Now your roses are ready for presentation. Whether they are simply wrapped in cellophane, gift-boxed for easy transport, or elegantly designed in a vase, your roses leave the store in their BEST possible condition to last a long time.

And in the end, you receive the value of long-lasting flowers which saves you money!

To view our rose arrangements, please check out our rose catalogue.