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Roses! The Flower of Love. Check out any Romance film, and you're bound to see a red rose in there somewhere, occasionally a different colour, just to mix it up, but it'll be there, guaranteed. But there's a darker side to Roses at this time of year, and one you should be taking note on.
With Valentines Day almost upon us (yes, it's coming). Flowers Gold Coast is here to give you a few reasons to have a think about your Roses this year.
Chances are, they're imported.
Unfortunately, Imports are decimating the Australian Flower Growing industry, cheap imports that are able to be grown at much bigger sizes, and for a lot less, leaves little competitive edge for our Aussie Growers.
Why does it matter? Well for one, where possible, we want to support local, local purchases supports our local economy, and better quality flowers, without all the nasties that come with imports. Larger Aussie Rose Farms have shrunk down to double digits over recent years, due to increased competition.
Imported Flowers are coming from countries with different pests and diseases, while our awesome team at the border are doing their best to prevent these from coming in, they aren't perfect and despite the chemicals they spray the containers full of roses with, our beloved ecosystem is still at risk.
Demand is High, So are Prices
Despite the fact that a large majority of roses being imported for Valentines Day, the cheaper international prices won't always be hitting your pocket. As supply is reduced as a result of COVID, lengthier import delays (normally they're shipped via airplane) and well, Roses will be popular, this means that the costs are passed on all the way to you. Normal Flowers will increase slightly for Valentines Day, but the prices of roses normally trebles in price.
Quality is Key
Flowers Gold Coast prides itself on its quality. Visiting local grower markets multiple times a week to ensure that your flowers aren't too old, or ready to fall apart. Your Roses this Valentines Day may not be getting that same attention from other Florists who predominantly import. Worldwide its estimated over 300 Million Roses will be delivered this Valentines Day alone.
Farmers will be waiting to deliver until the last minute to maximise on higher than normal costs and to ensure on time shipments, leaving quality to suffer. We've seen in the past that Roses from Valentines Day can often last barely 3-5 days. A significant drop from our normal 15-24 days in our standard bouquets.
What can I do?
Flowers Gold Coast will be supplying very limited Fresh Roses this year for Valentines Day, to provide some other options, we'll have alternate bouquets which we think will just wow your
The Roses we purchase will be 95% locally produced and sourced. Flowers Gold Coast will have a small amount of roses that are foreign grown, but we are happy to be transparent about it. Why do we source international? Unfortunately our local growers haven't yet been able to commit to their quantities available, so to keep everyone happy, we have ordered a few from overseas markets to ensure that we have some supply of roses, just in case.
If you choose a Florist other than Flowers Gold Coast, while we'll be sad, we suggest asking your Florist for non-imported Roses.
Keep an eye out however, we will also be offering Preserved Roses (see below), a nice alternate to Fresh Roses, that won't wilt after a day or two and are a good metaphor for "Everlasting Love"!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Check out some of our "Flowers of the Month" blog posts here!
Or our other blog "Words from your Local Florist", we go into detail about our day to day activities, information about upcoming seasons, or trends, or some behind the scenes information that you will love!