Here are a few words from our founder...  He had a pretty strong opinion on roses!

Of all the flowers in our repertoire, none causes more problems than roses. Somehow established long ago as the ultimate floral gift, roses can be quite fickle. Sending them is like a "crap-shoot". Sometimes one wins, but sometimes one loses.

We buy only the best roses on the market, currently the ones from Ecuador. The problem is that all roses look the same under refrigeration. The test comes when they are sent out and are expected to perform at room temperature. Sometimes they perform beautifully, but sometimes they don’t. 

There is a 12-18 hour period during a rose’s development when it can be harvested. Even an hour or two early means the rose is “green” and it will not open. Unfortunately, there is no test for what are the good ones and what are the bad ones; they all look the same in a florist's cooler.

The rose problem becomes acute in February when the demand curve goes off the charts. The problem results from the fact that roses cannot be planted just for the Valentine’s market. The same bushes must be kept in production year round. This is why you see specials on roses during the summer. Growers are hustling to get anything they can out of the summer production. For Valentine’s, some growers begin stockpiling product four to six weeks in advance. Again, there is no way of knowing what are the good ones and what are the bad ones until it is too late.

So what is the consumer to do, given this pessimistic talk about roses?

1. Consider an alternative: One of our colorful, garden vase arrangements is sure to please, in contrast to the roses that will last, at best, two to three days. One might ask for one rose in your arrangement to carry the "love" message.
2. Another smart choice: One of our orchid plants. For the less than the price of a dozen roses. you can send one of these exotic, but easy-to-care-for plants that will be enjoyed for two to three months. 
3. If you do send roses, it has been our experience that any of the novelty colors out-perform the reds.
4. Never send the lavender roses. Although they MAY have great fragrance which most commercial roses do not, they are the absolute worst performers of all the roses.
If you do choose to send roses, be assured that we do offer the best roses available.  If they do not perform satisfactorily, let us know. If they have not started to open on the second day call us THEN. We can go back on our supplier at that time so that the roses can be replaced immediately or a credit held for a future time. Just remember, IT MUST BE ON THE SECOND DAY. Later than that, the wholesaler will not do anything for us, and we cannot replace the roses.

roses