Flowers become more expensive for the holidays: frosts and blackouts destroy floriculture

Will the tulips become “golden” by the holidays? How the cold and blackouts affected the flower business

Photo: FB Rai Flora

Employees of flower shops are actively preparing for Valentine’s Day. The cold and power outages, they assure, will not interfere with the celebration – there will be enough flowers for everyone. However, the cost this year will be unpleasantly surprising. The journalist found out how much tulips and roses will cost for Valentine’s Day Briefly about.

The product is delicate and capricious Twenty-degree frost spoiled the mood of flower growers.

– We nurture our flowers in a heated greenhouse, – he says Briefly about Mistress of the “Malva” farm Valentine. – When there were severe frosts, it was necessary to raise the air temperature in the greenhouse. Currently, we have +14 in the greenhouse, and this is a favorable temperature for flowers.

Valentina is a florist from Poltava region, grows tulips for cutting, i.e. for bouquets. According to her, all flowers reserved for Valentine’s Day have already been sent to stores. But the greenhouse is not empty: tulips ordered by flower shops until March 8 are gaining color.

– I have one gas-heated greenhouse, and this is a great blessing, – Valentina notes. – Why? Because my colleagues have the same greenhouse, but with electric heating. Now imagine what happened to those flowers as soon as they started turning off the electricity. Almost the entire harvest was lost.

Flowers are a delicate and sensitive product. A few hours of inappropriate temperature conditions are enough, and the plant begins to darken, dry and die.

Flowers are a delicate and demanding product. A few hours of incorrect temperature conditions are enough, and the plant begins to turn black, wither and die. Photo: FB Rai Flora

By air transport, trucks, through customs terminals Despite the development of domestic greenhouse complexes, a significant part of flowers are imported to Ukraine from abroad. And here the leaders are the Netherlands (roses of various types, orchids), Ecuador (roses, carnations, chrysanthemums), Kenya (again, roses). Buds travel a long way by plane, trucks, through customs points. And they may not reach Ukraine.

– It also happens that the flowers left the warm premises in good condition, but were already damaged while waiting at the border or during overloading, – he says Briefly about the owner of the shop “Orchideya” (Lviv) Yulia. – In a frost of minus 10-15 degrees, a few minutes in the cold is enough for a rose to lose its appearance. Although this is a temperature-controlled shipment. But we had such a thing that we open the boxes, and there half the flowers are soft, with darkened petals. They cannot be saved. This is a write-off, a direct loss.

– So you shouldn’t expect affordable tulips on Valentine’s Day? – I ask.

– Tulips are mainly Ukrainian, so the price per unit will not be excessive, but within 50-70 UAH (depending on the variety and the store’s markup), but roses will not be cheap, – notes Yulia. – We will put a price tag of 130 hryvnias for the classical one from the Netherlands, and 170 hryvnias for the pion-like one.

Flowers are purchased in advance, investing significant funds with the expectation that they will be returned precisely during the festive excitement. Valentine’s Day, March 8, wedding season – these are the periods due to which flower shops actually “exist” all year round.

– And I recommend ordering flowers now. Because the assortment of roses has decreased, the florist emphasizes.

What about buyers? The reaction of buyers is different. Some understand the situation, others are outraged by the prices. But the crisis in the flower market is layered on the general economic situation in the country. In Ukraine, prices for fuel, rent, utilities, and products are rising. And for flowers in particular.

Despite this, sellers continue to work. They cut each branch by hand, check the temperature in the refrigerators, insulate the premises, and look for other suppliers.

Florists recommend booking flowers, especially roses, in advance. Photo: FB Rai Flora