GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Millions of people are preparing for Valentine’s Day just around the corner. If you’re thinking of getting that special someone a bouquet of flowers, local florists say you better act fast as global supply chain issues are affecting products.
Nationally, flowers are in short supply due to global supply chain issues and recent inclement weather. According to the International Floral Trading Organization:
- 247,717 jobs in floral industry were lost between 2019-2021
- More than 3,000 floral farms – about one third of world’s farms, closed during 2019-2021
- More than double the amount of weddings set to occur in 2022 than in 2021 and 2020
- Prices of higher-end flowers, such as specific types of roses have jumped as high as 90%
Historically, prices do go up on Valentine’s Day products, caused by wholesalers raising pricing, which forces businesses to do the same. Del Johnston, an employee with the Winterville Flower Shop, said everyday prices for flowers compared to prices on Valentine’s Day can range anywhere from a $35 to $50 difference.
Owner of Wildflower Florist in Greenville, Jessica Shore, said the price increase she’s seen because of the supply issues is between 80 and 100 percent.
“It all starts all the way from the fertilizer and getting the people out on the farms, the flower farms, and it just trickles all the way up to the cardboard to get it here,” Shore said.
Johnston said their Winterville shop hasn’t experienced many issues with flower shortages, and they are still getting deliveries every day. They have noticed shortages in other much-needed products.
“It’s things like vases, baskets, those sort of things are hard to come by now,” Johnston said.
Johnston also said this shortage is definitely worse than in 2021. Last year, “people were ordering flowers because they couldn’t take their spouse out to eat or whatever.” Shore is experiencing similar shortages.
“Our local supplier is really great at keeping them (flowers) fully stocked for Valentine’s Day. The cases have been an issue getting them here. The freight charges are what is crazy right now.”
Jessica Shore, Owner of Wildflower Florist
So although other parts of the country may be experiencing extremes when it comes to flower shortages, it seems Eastern North Carolina is stocked, loaded and ready for the holiday of love. Both Wildflower Florist in Greenville and Winterville Flower Shop tell 9OYS they’ve had an abundance of Valentine’s Day orders so far and expect more orders to come in over the next week.
Local florists agree on advice for flower shoppers this Valentine’s Day:
- Take your time, and be patient
- Order early, and look to pickup/get delivery the day before
- Be flexible to different types of flowers. If one is out of stock or too expensive, there’s many others to choose from
Certain types of roses may be especially hard to come by this year, meaning those you do find may be wildly over-priced. Johnston recommends trying another type of flower or mixed arrangement this year to save on costs and stress.
“I know that roses are the normal thing, but we do have a lot of other pretty flowers so that you don’t have to pay $124 if you’re limited on what you can spend.”
Del Johnston, Winterville Flower Shop
Shore recommends picking a designer’s choice, “that way we can make it fun and it’s not your typical standard hard dozen roses, it can be fun and whimsical and show someone you really care. You can choose your price point and we can work around that for you.”