Demand for Valentine’s Day flowers not wilting; finding some takes effort

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Central Indiana is usually a place where florists can find flowers, but some looked far and wide, including South America, Holland and Israel to make sure their shelves are stocked.

Roses are still popular this Valentine’s Day, but the operators of Gillespie Florists in Indianapolis say the wholesale price for roses went up 30% this past year, a cost they decided not to pass along to customers.

“We are absorbing some of that cost just to help out our consumers and make sure that our sales stay strong,” said owner Sarah Gillespie.

Some flowers are hard to get a hold of or are completely out of stock, such as the peony, Indiana’s state flower.

“One flower that we had difficulty getting this year were poppies, but I actually got some from Italy of all places,” Gillespie said.

Over the past two years, supply chain issues, labor shortages and the weather has caused Gillespie to look well beyond Indiana for a variety of flowers. “If you see the 10 inches of snow outside, that’s one of the reasons we can’t get local flowers, so we do have to pay to get them shipped up from other places.”

But, Gillespie’s staff isn’t cutting any corners. They have extra space to store arrangements. She contends that flowers are still the best gift for nearly any occasion.

“Your sense of smell is linked to your long-term memory,” she said. “I don’t know if people realize this, but the smell of flowers, especially for a special occasion like a wedding, when you smell flowers it can bring back those long-term memories, such as your wedding day or maybe the day you got engaged.”

Gillespie’s shop is open Saturday and Sunday, to accommodate late orders.