Basics
Valentine’s Day General Update- Many farms who produce BASIC product are not taking additional orders for Holiday shipping. These products are approaching holiday pricing. We have a good amount already booked with farms, but you may not get exactly what you want. For example, if you want Altroemeria Pink Primadonna, we may be sold out, but there are several other varieties of Pink Alstro available. Please be flexible, and see more detailed information below.
Alstroemeria– Growers are not taking any more orders for the holiday. We hope to have enough coming in, but don’t delay ordering or you may not get what you need.
Limonium/Statice– Pink and White Limonium are practically sold out, and the Purples are going quickly. Pink and White Statice are also effectively sold out. Demand for these items always outstrips supply around this holiday.
Liatris– This is becoming difficult to find in the market.
Mums and Poms– White Football Mums are very limited in the market. This is expected to continue for some time. It would be a good idea to get used to other White Disbuds and Cremons.
We have a good supply of Pom Pons coming in, but they are priced very high in the market now.
Carnations and Mini Carnations– We suggest getting your orders in. If you do not order early, you may be disappointed when looking to cover your needs. For Valentine’s the colors that will be most limited are Hot Pink, Lavender and Purple.
Gypsophila– Our Gyp is moving quickly. The weather in Ecuador has limited production, and we may sell out before we would like to.
Gladiolus– Times are tough right now. We are going to be light on Glads for next week. Our DVFlora 13 packs will be unavailable for about 3 weeks. California has been limited to only a few Assorted packs each week. There are zero solid colors available. The cooler temperatures have really been slowing the glads down. Costa Rica had nothing available this week. We should be in better shape starting 2/5.
Roses
Prices are high right now and will remain high now through the holiday. Most farms and importers are at or very near to holiday prices. Red roses prices are up considerably for next week. Colors are also up- not quite as high as the red, but they have increased significantly.
Heading towards Valentine’s Day, so far so good. There have been a few nice days in Ecuador which really helped production. They are still running a couple days late but not nearly as bad as it looked last week. We have LOTS of Roses ordered and confirmed, and are expecting an excellent holiday.
Botanicals
Florida Nurseries – Hurricane Damage- Hurricane Irma, although it was in September, has had an enormous impact on the Florida nurseries. (See pictures below.) Two of our buyers were touring nurseries last week, some that were in Irma’s direct path and some that were not. They found out that all of the nurseries suffered shade house damage. A large portion of the Spaths, Aglaonema, Ficus, Palms, etc. for this region are grown in shade houses down in Florida. All nurseries lost their shade cloth, resulting in a shortage of cloth. While we were visiting last week, some growers had just received their cloth a few days prior to us seeing them.
Before:
After:
Spathiphyllum– Please be aware that these are shorter than we are used to, and shorter than we’d like them to be. Also, most plants do not have blooms. They have been treated to help them bloom again but it will be a while until that happens. However, since all nurseries lost their shade cloth, they have not been able to plant new material so there has been nothing coming up that is sized to our satisfaction.
Valentine’s Day Flowering Plants- Availability seems to be good on Cyclamen, Azalea, Mini Roses, and Violets. There is a good supply of Bulb Plants from Canada. Local suppliers will come online closer to March.
Phalaenopsis Orchids- These have been tricky. The buds on the plants have been stubborn, slowed down by the cool temps. We will have orchids for the holiday, but we want to firm up the availability before promoting them.
Novelties
Stock- California stock seems to be leveling out. At the moment supply looks good for stock with the exception of Lavender and Light Pink. It is still too early to tell but we may have trouble keeping up with demand for these two colors.
Delphinium- Delphinium is limited from all growing regions. Expect shortages similar to this past week, and expect some tighter cut stages.
Snapdragons- The production has picked up a little but the available quantities still vary from shipment to shipment. This past week I needed all three California truck departures to meet demand.
Here’s a classic good news bad news situation- We have a great special on California Pink Snaps for next week. The bad news is this is because the Valentine’s Day crop for our major supplier is coming on early. This will put pressure on availability for the holiday.
Matsumotos & Dianthus Amazon- Matsumotos seem to be in full production and demand has 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.
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. Below is a photo of a very nice new variety of Pink Queen Protea called Empress.
