When looking back at Valentine's Day, Turkish florists had mixed experiences. Some had a good one, while others expected better sales. Also, rose prices stayed seemingly high for florists, and some of them may have opted for alternatives.
In Aydin, sales were below expectations, Son Dakika reports. Sema Demirdelen told the newspaper: "I have been selling flowers for 10 years. I mostly sell only in summer areas. There were more sales there. I just moved to Aydin, I was selling in Izmir before. I expected an increase in sales on Valentine's Day, but unfortunately, there was no increase in our sales this year. People did not buy flowers due to the economic situation in the country."
In Osmancik, however, florists told Osmancik.com that they noticed an increase in pre-orders in the run-up to Valentine's Day. Regarding the varieties, red rose and phalaenopsis were the most preferred ones.
"A branch of red rose, which was sold in the range of 1 - 1.3 USD per stem on normal days, was sold in the range of 1.8 - 2 USD on Valentine's Day, Phalaenopsis which was the most preferred indoor plant variety on Valentine's Day was sold for 11 -14 USD on normal days and 17 -20 USD on Valentine's Day."
Regarding the preferred varieties for Valentine's Day, florists told Karar that they preferred dried flowers instead of roses due to the price increases. "The alternative to rose was lavender. Florists turned to dry plants due to the rise in rose prices. While the stem price of a rose is 2 USD, a bouquet of lavender is sold for 1 USD."
Florist Senem Nur Yagar told Karar: "We were not able to predict how much sales were going to be because flower prices had risen so much. Flowers such as roses and daisies were very expensive because they are imported. We recommended dry flowers as the cheapest option. Arrangements made with dry flowers were more suitable. Roses were sold for 2 - 3 USD per stem, while dry plant flower arrangements were sold for 6 USD. As a dry flower, I can give lavender as an example. Lavenders are produced in Isparta. They are both locally produced, have a very nice smell, and have a long life. Bundles of lavenders started at 1 USD."
