US market
Mother’s Day is near, and in the US, flowers are the go-to gift. More money is spent on bouquets around mom’s special day in the US (about $2.4 billion last year, according to a National Retail Federation survey) than on Valentine’s Day ($2.1 billion). No wonder the past weeks have been crazy for the Sun Valley Group. "Mother's Day is the Holy Grail of holidays for flower farmers," they write on their blog. "The past three weeks (nay, months!) have been a highly focused team effort to make sure our flowers are picked, bunched, sleeved, and shipped on time for the big day. All team members are on-deck, clocking long hours and even working outside of their "home" departments in order to help bunch tulips, sleeve lilies, and pack boxes."
Valentine's Day beaten by Mother's Day?
At one time, Valentine’s Day was the biggest yearly holiday in the flower business. But this year it could be dethroned by Mother’s Day. A story about this shift in the US city of Amarillo is published on Amarillo.com.
New season, new varieties
Mother’s Day, this Sunday, May 8, is the official kick-off to the flower season in Michigan, with local greenhouses gearing up for this busy weekend. “It’s going to be huge,” Kathy Mathews of Heavenly Scent Herb Farm in Tyrone Township told the TC Times. The exciting aspect of this season for gardeners is that there’s always something new in floral color or variety, usually introduced during the Mother’s Day Weekend.
Making your mommy happy
Holiday orders put a strain on florists. To see what you get, Consumer Reports ordered a variety of colored roses near another high-stress time for florists—Valentine’s Day. The long-stemmed roses were ordered from three popular online florists: ProFlowers, FTD, and 1-800 Flowers. When the flowers arrived, they were assessed by Consumer Reports staffers. There were some surprises.
Keeping your mommy happy
Making a mom happy with flowers is one thing - but keeping her happy is something else. The longer the flowers remain, the longer she'll be reminded of the great kid who gave her these lovely flowers. Therefore, WTNH experimented with how to make flowers last.
Fraud's Day
Where money is made, fraudsters are lurking. The AARP Fraud Watch Network warns against fake online flower shops. "They attract buyers by claiming to have low prices, but in reality, they are just taking credit card information and — you guessed it — not delivering flowers. AARP experts recommend consumers do their homework and not get lured by low prices. "Scammers celebrate Mother’s Day, too!" But there's more to be mindful of. Online middlemen try to lure online buyers into buying from their customers - which means customers aren't getting the local produce they want.
Local produce
At least 80% of cut flowers sold in the U.S. are shipped from overseas, but the origin of flowers is becoming more and more of an issue. One of the companies responding to this, is Farmgirl Flowers. "Importation adds cost that’s bad for the local farming economy and consumers alike," founder Christina Stembel states.
Checking the Colombian greenhouses
Editors of the website Ozy.com visited rose farms in Colombia. "Yes, those Mother’s Day flowers you should have ordered by now probably came from the high-altitude savannah just outside Bogotá," they state in their photo report. Care for more? The website OregonLive also travelled to Colombia. They visited Jose Antonio Restrepo of Ayura Farms. He has 87 acres of flowers producing 9 million roses and 25 million carnations a year. Check out their photo and video report about the origin of most Mother's Day bouquets.
Facebook flowers
Even Facebook joins the flower industry for Mother's Day. A Twitter user noticed Facebook testing a digital flower. "To celebrate Mother's Day, we are testing the ability for people in a few markets to leave a flower reaction," the company said in a statement.
New Zealand: Social media
ForNew Zealand florist Nicco Goodin, the internet was an important partner this year. "Social media was boosting sales, with more interest coming in from Facebook and Instagram," Goodin told Taranaki Daily News. Pre-orders were up, which was scary because there was never a shortage of last-minute buyers wanting to get mum a little something, she said.
Commercial
Haven't had enough by now? Then we'll finish with this tear-jerking Teleflora commercial . The company makes sure you'll feel terribly bad if you don't join them.