SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — If you've been shopping for that special someone, you might have noticed higher Valentine’s Day prices.
On top of that, there's a growing flower shortage.
Inside the refrigerator at Genesee Florist there is an abundance of flowers and roses but there's still a shortage of other flowers, vases and supplies right ahead of the holiday.
Pruning each stem carefully, adding that extra greenery to a colorful bouquet and wrapping each creation, florists are making sure cupid delivers this Valentines.
“We might get only 70% of what we ordered because it’s in back order,” said Douglas Garhartt, Genesee Florist. “We will give a list to our suppliers and say we need all of these things and they'll say 'ok, we're out of this, we're out of this we can't get it,' Some things are pushed back a whole year.”
Little House of Flowers opened its second shop in Point Loma and is feeling it too.
“I couldn't find a Gerber Daisy to save my life,” said Hilary Bateman, Little House of Flowers owner.
Now, she says she received an order of flowers including Gerber Daisies.
“I got three bundles, woo-hoo,” said Bateman.
Independent florists Christine Winchel, with Christine's Floral Designs works out of her Santee home and just received her order of flowers. She said she took gamble on what kind of flowers to buy ahead of orders.
“We had to put our orders in way ahead of time and you can see in the background I'm trying to process all of those,” said Winchel.
Supply chain challenges, labor shortages, and bad weather in international growing areas are causing a global shortage of fresh flowers just in time for a florist Super Bowl.
“The thing I didn't even think about but Valentine's Day is the day after super bowl, good luck finding any drivers,” said Bateman.
From a shortage of drivers to corsage glue, vases are also hard to come by.
“We've had these rose colored vases on back order since last year,” said Garhartt.
The price of flowers is going up which is forcing some florists to pass on the costs to customers.
“A dozen red roses in a vase is $95,” said Bateman. “Last year it was $85 so it's a $10 hike,”
To help your florists with supply and cut down on your costs you can opt for a few roses and other colorful flowers and upcycle a vase.
“If you have an old teapot or an antique vase or an urn,” said Garhartt.
Remember, when you shop local, you're helping your florists plant new seeds in the community.
“I'm starting small, I'm a mom of two. It's a lot to balance. My goal when they get older is to have that storefront and keep pushing hard to get there,” said Winchel.
Florists recommend to place your Valentine’s orders early and if you are ordering online call the florist to confirm it’s not a third party and that you are not getting scammed.
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