Why are flowers so expensive?

Giving flowers to others is a centuries-old tradition throughout the world. We send flowers to express love, happiness, sympathy, regret, and so much more. Flowers speak a powerful language between friends, family, and loved ones.

Flower prices vary greatly depending on bloom type, style, design, size, harvest location, and many other factors. What most people do not fully realize, however, is why and how floral arrangements can be so expensive.

There are countless steps that go into the process long before the blooms find their way to the Lilygrass coolers, where they wait to be hand-selected and placed into a customized design for your event or special occasion.

Growing and harvesting

Before the planting process even begins, researchers spend countless hours scientifically designing the best way to grow the biggest, brightest, and best quality blooms for each variety. Once the flowers are actually planted, they take even more time to cultivate and then, once they begin to bloom, are carefully harvested and prepared for travel.

Shipping and transportation

Because most blooms are shipping from around the world and not simply picked from a local field, they must be shipped, sometimes thousands of miles. Shipping fresh blooms requires special materials and transportation services to avoid bruising or crushing the blooms. Those that are damaged in transport cannot be used. If they arrive at their destination safely, they are then prepared by the florist and placed in specially designed coolers to keep them fresh until they are ready to be used.

Availability and shelf life

Florists must be prepared for anything! Not only does the floral designer have to keep blooms on hand for walk-in and call-in orders, but they also have to keep enough in stock for larger arrangements and events. While some flowers can be sourced locally on short notice depending on where you are located, some other blooms require longer wait times if shipped from far away. Blooms have a shorter shelf life than most traditional goods, so not all blooms will be used before they begin to wilt.

Creating the arrangement

When you order an arrangement, the perfect blooms are carefully selected by a Lilygrass floral designer. They’re placed one-by-one into a unique and customized design, then delivered to the lucky recipient in a vehicle designed specifically for transporting fragile floral arrangements.

The cost, time, effort, and diligence it takes for every single stem to make each arrangement beautiful and special is why floral arrangements can be so costly. And that effort is one of the reasons why flowers are one of the most extraordinary gifts to give. Every single arrangement really and truly is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, and there will never be another quite like it.  That is why our slogan is "what you envision, we make a reality"

Ready to send a carefully selected arrangement to someone special? Call us at (405) 721-1813 to place your order!