Miscellaneous Valentine’s Day Notes
Grower Direct– Some farms will start cutting off their offers early next week. Also the regular cutoffs may be advanced by one or two days to allow farms to keep up with increased volume and still ship your orders on time.
Weather– Cold weather in Ecuador is delaying production, particularly on Roses, Gyp, Lilies and Poms. Some farms already expect to be shipping a couple of days late. In addition, we expect the freight delays we have been experiencing out of South America to continue. While we build in some cushion to compensate for these delays, you would be wise to prebook for your needs and plan on getting your product a little earlier than you you want just in case. Those who don’t plan ahead may be stuck getting their product much later than they want.
California Report from Marc Robinson
Mudslide Update– It has been a trying 10 days for logistics in Southern California due to the horrific mudslides that occurred last week. The main freeway (HWY 101) that links our shipping location in Oxnard and northern CA has been closed since last Tuesday. Trucking companies did not miss a beat and have continued service while incurring 6-8 hour detour times. We are hopeful that all missing persons are found safe and that the road is cleared by Monday.
California Flower Production– January is always a low production and limited selection month for California flowers. We are definitely seeing the same trend this year. Although the old standbys are available there is very little diversity in flower selection. Waxflower is in full production now and we are seeing a multitude of colors and varieties available. Stock and Larkspur are increasing in production as well. Snapdragons are still somewhat limited but as we get closer to Valentine’s Day we should see some more available. Kale is abundant and showing good color. Heather is in season but could gap if rains hit that region. Tulip, Iris and Lily production is strong. We are seeing good quality Sunflowers, Matsumoto Asters, Dianthus and Ginestra. Anemones and Ranunculus are slowly coming back into production. Fillers are limited to Solidago, Gyp, Green Mist and QA Lace.
California Greens- All Eucalyptus are in good production except Seeded, that has turned to cup already. With the weather issues in Florida in recent weeks there are some alternative greens options here in CA: Myrtle, Olive Branch, Salal, Acacia, Agonis, Grevillea and African Boxwood.
Greens
Leatherleaf– The aftermath of 2 hurricanes and the recent freeze have dramatically limited the supply of Leatherleaf from Florida, just as we head into the time of year with the largest demand. We are procuring what we can from Florida, as well as from Costa Rica and Honduras, but we expect to sell out at various times during the holiday shipping period. You would be wise to order your Leatherleaf early, and also shift to other greens that are more readily available.
Basics and Fillers
Laceflower– We expect to have a good supply through January, but heading into Valentine’s Day availability will be lower due to the normal production cycle.
Limonium and Statice– Both are in good supply now. Moving towards Valentine’s Day, Limonium will be extremely limited as always, and the prices will reflect that. Purple Statice should be readily available, but Pink, White and Lavender Statice will be very limited.
Alstroemeria– We have a great special on Assorted 15 packs for next week because one farm had an early overproduction we were able to grab at a great price. Moving into the holiday, demand will outstrip supply as it does at most holidays, and most farms have stopped taking orders. We have a good amount coming in, but you should order early to make sure you get what you need.
Mini Carnations and Carnations– There was also some overproduction on Mini Carns, so have a great buy on Assorted 15 packs. However as that supply dries up, we expect to be at Holiday pricing by the 25th on most Carnations and Mini Carnations. For Valentine’s Day, the colors that will be most limited are Hot Pink, Lavender and Purple.
Poms and Mums– Pom farms have already begun shipping to Bouquet makers and supply is low, which is causing the market in general to be at Holiday pricing starting next week. We are now down to two growers of Football Mums in the market place. Supply will continue to be limited on Football mums, but several farms are increasing their production of Disbuds, as they don’t require as much labor or cost to produce as Football Mums. While head size is slightly smaller on most Disbuds, those who use a lot of Football Mums should start to get used to working with Disbuds.
Below are a couple of newer Disbuds becoming available after the Valentines Holiday period.
Mum Disbud White Magnum. Good head size, but a VERY slight touch of green to the center until fully open.
Mum Disbud Purple Baltazar….a newer spider variety becoming available after the Valentines Holiday.
Novelty
Gardenias– After several weeks of extremely low supply, we finally have a good amount of Gardenias. We have found an additional source that seems to have a steady supply for now.
Stephanotis– Production has dropped in California and Canadian production isn’t ready yet, but we’ve been using several sources in California and have been able to keep up with demand.
Gladiolus– Production on California Glads has dropped significantly. There will be very limited to no availability on solid colors out of California for the next several weeks. We will bring in what we can as soon as it becomes available. We will be filling in with Mexican and Costa Rican Glads until Cali production bounces back. DVFlora Glads will be unavailable for a few weeks.
Stock– There seems to be a much better flow of supply to the market. This time of year we have to keep our eye on the weather. The supply from Ecuador is also strong and we have been supplementing our inventory with good numbers and great quality from Ecuador.
Larkspur- Larkspur is limited this time of year. The crop is coming back but White is very limited. White is the last to come back into production, so expect severe shortages in White. Purple is the first to come back and we will continue with the specials on purple. The 80/90 cm Larkspur from Ecuador was a hit. Unfortunately production is limited in the taller lengths, as most of their crop is the typical 60cm that is less popular. Buy it when you see it, but don’t expect much for Valentines Day.
Delphinium- is limited from all growing regions. Expect shortages similar to this past week.
Heather- There is still heather from CA available for next week. We are still waiting to see if it will be available for Valentines Day.
Snapdragons- The production has picked up a little and quantities vary from truck to truck. This past week we needed all three California truck departures to meet demand. Canadian production was also a little better this past week. We will have a special on 10 packs of Assorted Medium at a nice price.
Asters Matsumotos & Dianthus Amazon- Matsumotos seem to be in full production and demand finally picked up. Lavender Matsumotos are finished from our only source and we don’t expect to see them again for some time. Dianthus Amazon and Sweet varieties are in good supply but demand has dropped way off.
Scabiosa- Our supplier of Burgundy and Black knight Scabiosa is finished for the season. Blackberry Scoop remains limited. There has been no White Scabiosa or Vanilla Scoop available. This is a product that is being produced extensively world wide. It is being promoted heavily by the breeders and growers. Please check these out.
Clematis– Our Florida Clematis grower sustained significant damage from Hurricane Irma. Unfortunately, they completely lost 2 of their greenhouses in addition to almost all of the roofs on the remaining structures. While they have been able to replace/repair the roofs; they were unable to replace the loss of the 2 greenhouses. They have decided to take this season off of growing and focus on rebuilding and increasing their production. We are currently looking for another source, but in the meantime, we can get most colors except for White from Holland.
Protea, Leucadendron and South African Product- Silver Brunia is about to wrap up for the season. In its place we will begin with spray brunia which has a much smaller berry. The supply of Pink Protea from California has improved and we will have a good selection for next week. King Protea from Hawaii is back. We have a new supplier from the Canary Islands. This is just beginning and we are looking forward to adding the Canary Island to our arsenal. There will be a few Arctic White King and White Knight Protea for next week. There will also be a few Pincushions, Red Tango,Orange Succession, and Orange Soleil for next week.
Navajo Blackberry– This is just a quick reminder that the blackberries are still shipping. We expect them to last until mid February. Take advantage while they are here.
Iris- Dark Blue Iris back but demand is low. There is limited amount of White from Mexico but all other colors are limited. For all you North Carolina Iris fans, our first shipment will arrive this weekend.
Sunflowers- At this time of year the demand is not strong but we are sure this will pick up. However production is still low in South America, especially the Vincents. We expect this will improve as we move forward. In the mean time we are supplementing with California Sunflowers.
Botanicals
Spathiphyllum– The availability of Spaths is still a struggle. While we have been able to acquire a significant amount of product, we are still running short on all sizes, especially 10″ pots. Due to the current situation, we are also experiencing grading differences, which is to be expected since we are buying from several different suppliers and the crops are slow to develop. Some plants will be smaller than expected, and most don’t have flowers right now. Unfortunately, costs have risen so they are more expensive than they have been.
Supplies
We have started receiving the new Holly Heider Chapple products. We will have the Glass and Plastic compotes in all sizes, and the Eggs and Pillows in all sizes. This is an exciting product line that has many uses that can potentially revolutionize modern floral design. Look on www.dvflora.com for the image below for a link to see the whole product line.
