VALENTINE’S DAY might be tricky this year after a global flower shortage has affected florists around the country.
Flower shops in major cities reported lower inventory than normal back in May during the pandemic as Mother’s Day orders were being made.
“Roses, in particular, are tight,” said Aaron McKinnon, a vendor at the Los Angeles Flower Market. “And so was the stock for ranunculus and anemones.”
Alex Vaughn, co-owner of the FLWR Shop, a Nashville-based shop, said that she mostly orders flowers from around the world.
“Right now we have stuff from Holland, Japan, South America, Central America…In February that’s pretty much where all the flowers are coming from,” she said.
According to Vaughn, the flowers usually come to the United States on passenger planes, but there are fewer spaces to put flowers onto planes due to people flying less these days.
“There’s also just less flowers growing because a bunch of farmers basically abandoned their farms during lockdown,” she said. “And you can’t just get that right back up.”
Because of the shortage, flowers are expected to be pricier than usual this year and customers can expect smaller orders as well.
“A lot of things we would normally buy are just too expensive,” said Vaughn. This has forced florists to charge customers double than normal on their orders.
One shop owner in Boston decided to close the shop before the holiday.
Randy Ricker, owner of The Brattle Square Florist, said his shop has been open for more than 100 years under multiple owners.
However, he said that the shortage has caused him to close the shop in late January.
“I do not believe that we can meet the demands of Valentine’s Day in February, traditionally our busiest time.”
For local businesses like Ricker’s the challenges of running the business during the pandemic and against big retailers haven’t been easy.
“Availability of product has never been more challenging. We are not able to attract and retain staff,” said Ricker.
