Mike Benken showed us the coolers at HL Benken Florist, where the Valentine's Day roses have just arrived.
Workers at the Silverton, Ohio garden center are busy preparing this weekend's flower arrangements.
But Benken cautions that all roses are not the same. He gets complaints from customers of out of town florists every year, saying their roses arrived wilted.
"They are frozen one day, or they may be cooked one day. It all depends on where the box was on the terminal,where it was on the airplane."
That's why he suggest sticking with a local florist. In that case, you can be sure they were kept at the right temperature, with the right solution.
"Were they processed right to begin with, were they hydrated right to begin with? If none of that was done you don't know how long they are going to last," he said.
Want long lasting roses? Benkin says reds and lavenders tend to look good for the longest longest time, while multi colored roses tend to have the shortest lifespan.
Avoid Fake Local Florists
And if you are ordering for delivery, he says beware Googling the terms "Cincinnati florist," "or "Cincinnati flowers."
He says unscrupulous out of town florists pay for high Google ranking.
"The biggest thing is a lot of people say they are local florists and they are not," he said.
And you don't know where your flowers are coming from.
We found one claiming to be Cincinnati's flower source: only problem, they spelled Cincinnati as "Cincinatti."
Local Price Check
So who has the lowest prices?
According to a local price check by 9 on Your Side, with help from a national survey just released by Brads Deals.com:
For a dozen long-stem red roses (not a full arrangement)
- Meijer is $16.
- Target is $17.
- Kroger is $20.
- Pro Flowers is $39 plus delivery.
- 1-800 flowers is $49 plus delivery.
- FTD is $49 plus delivery.
Expect to pay another $15 to $30 for a large arrangement in a vase.
On a budget? Consider tulips, half the price of roses on Valentines Day.'
But if you want a beautiful, handcrafted arrangement, you may want to go to a local florist. Sure, it will cost a bit more, but it can be worth it, and you don't waste your money.
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