National flower shortage branches into local flower shops
Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield
Bundles of roses arrive at local florist shops ahead of Valentine鈥檚 Day. Florists cut and prepare the roses and keep them in water until it鈥檚 time to add the classic flower to arrangements.
Diane Scalamogna said roses are widely available ahead of Valentine鈥檚 Day, but wholesalers were asked to purchase assorted colors instead of bulk-buying just red or just pink before the holiday. (Photo by Katherine Mansfield)
Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield
Peace lilies and other exotic plants and flowers have been in short supply since the pandemic began.
Katherine Mansfield
The flower shortage has forced local florists to get creative with their arrangements. A snapdragon is often substituted for the white stock flower in this arrangement when the ruffled white stock is unavailable.
Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield
When certain flowers are unavailable, local florists work with customers to find flower or color substitutes for that arrangement. Local flower shops always try to substitute a flower at a similar price-point to the customer鈥檚 original order.
Henry Matisse once said, 鈥淭here are always flowers for those who want to see them.鈥�
For nearly two years, however, certain flowers have been absent from local florist shops.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 get white carnations, and that鈥檚 a common flower,鈥� said Janet Baxendell, who has managed The Perfect Arrangement & Lily Bee鈥檚 in Waynesburg for 12 years. 鈥淪ympathy (arrangements) 鈥� that鈥檚 one of our biggest sellers here. I have orders on back-order constantly with wind chimes, lanterns. There definitely is a shortage. It just depends on what flower it is.鈥�
Exotic flowers are especially hard for Baxendell to stock. Larry Jones, who runs Washington Square Flower Shop in Washington, is also having a difficult time filling his storefront with plants and products that were once an order away.
鈥淭he peace lilies, it鈥檚 one of those plants that I carry constantly. They鈥檙e hard to get now,鈥� Jones said, adding he鈥檚 felt the impact of the flower shortage most strongly the past couple springs.
鈥淎nything metal, too: easels, wind chimes. I have silk flowers, anything coming from China, it鈥檚 an issue.鈥�
The issue stems back to early 2020.
鈥淚t all goes back to COVID. It really set everything off,鈥� said Diana Scalamogna, a family owner of BW Wholesale Florist on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh.
When the world locked down, the flower industry shut down along with it.
鈥淎ll the farms pretty much had to halt production. They had to pretty much throw away their roots,鈥� said Scalamogna. 鈥淪o when the world started to open up again, all of a sudden there was this demand for flowers again. Events were back on. It was a huge supply and demand issue.鈥�
Demand has been hard to meet. Weather in California, which grows about 76% of the United States鈥� fresh flowers, and Bogota, Colombia, further compounded the shortage. When farms in Ecuador and Bogota 鈥� the two major flower exporters to the U.S. 鈥� returned to work, owners found themselves short-handed.
A decrease in international flights meant less space on fewer planes for flowers and related product. When shipments did arrive in the states, there weren鈥檛 enough bodies to check flowers in.
And then, of course, there鈥檚 the truck driver shortage.
鈥淟ogistics is a big issue,鈥� said Scalamogna. 鈥淚t really all started from COVID 鈥� and then it trickled down. When flights weren鈥檛 available, when they did grow something, it was hard to get it into the U.S. When these flowers arrive in Miami, there鈥檚 a shortage of labor to accept these flowers. There鈥檚 a shortage of truck drivers. I鈥檝e never seen anything like this.鈥�
Baxendell said there is one big change at The Perfect Arrangement as a result of the pandemic: 鈥淢y prices have increased quite a bit,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e even adding on fuel costs to bring (shipments) here, so it鈥檚 been all the way around.鈥�
Prices at Driscoll鈥檚 Potting Shed in Connellsville have also grown throughout the pandemic.
鈥淔lowers that were a common flower, that may have been available a year or two ago, they鈥檙e like a specialty. There鈥檚 such a limited supply available. It鈥檚 driving the market prices through the roof,鈥� said DeAnn Driscoll. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been price increase after price increase after price increase. It鈥檚 hard to set that pricing off to the customer. It鈥檚 definitely a sticker shock.鈥�
Driscoll鈥檚 Potting Shed opened in November 2019, just before COVID-19 hit. Driscoll said the industry her family works in today, three years into the pandemic, is not the same industry they started in.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just rolling and adapting as we go,鈥� she said.
With more people vaccinated and eager to gather again in large groups, this year is expected to be one of the busiest for weddings in the U.S. Scalamogna said florists may have trouble making a bride鈥檚 floral fantasies bloom into a reality, and many brides may need to be flexible with their arrangements.
Driscoll鈥檚 is doing its best to accommodate brides. Driscoll said she educates her brides on flower choices and offers three options, based on flower availability.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 been really hard, coming back from the shutdown for weddings,鈥� said Driscoll. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 provide pricing, I couldn鈥檛 provide availability. With wedding work, we鈥檒l pre-book flowers. We like to pre-book the flowers six to eight weeks out. It鈥檚 been four to six weeks. If you book too soon, they can鈥檛 guarantee. That鈥檚 been rough.鈥�
Rough, too, is that sometimes, shipments arrive with flowers that are not up to pre-pandemic standards. Driscoll said she returned a shipment ahead of Valentine鈥檚 Day because she couldn鈥檛 sell the flowers that arrived to customers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a nightmare,鈥� she said, noting she offered full refunds to brides who postponed their big days due to the pandemic. Fortunately, she said, her wedding business is picking back up.
Jones, too, is in wedding mode.
鈥淚t definitely seems to be ramping up now,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely booking up for spring weddings and fall weddings. It seems to be back to about normal.鈥�
For the global floral industry, 鈥渘ormal鈥� may be another year away, but, aside from specific flower colors, local florists and regional wholesalers are receiving their shipments. For them, it鈥檚 a delicate balance of being creative with arrangements and filling all the usual orders while preparing for Valentine鈥檚 Day.
鈥淎s long as you stay ahead of the game and order early, you鈥檙e good,鈥� Jones said.