Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 13, 1995 TAG: 9502130056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CROWDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``[The rose] is the Valentine flower; [it's] what most people want to send, so they're willing to pay the price,'' said Sam Ramsey, owner of Floral Renditions in Roanoke.
The increase in rose prices is market-driven and caused by the closeness of the December holiday season to Valentine's Day, according to the Alexandria-based Society of American Florists.
Rose growers typically require 50 to 70 days to produce enough roses for Valentine's Day, according to Jennifer Sparks, the florists' society's assistant director of marketing. Because Valentine's Day falls so soon after Christmas, another high demand period for roses, and because of less daylight and higher energy costs in the winter, prices increase at all levels, from the grower to the florist.
Ramsey said that he is paying about four times what he usually pays for a rose. His price for a dozen wrapped roses has increased from $12.99 to $29.99. He said that some people will either buy fewer roses or buy a different flower. However, other flowers also become more expensive at Valentine's Day.
``The market pushes all cut flowers up in price around all the holidays,'' Ramsey said. ``Valentine's Day is probably the one where they're driven up the most because of the time of year and because people want flowers on that day. Christmas and Mother's Day are drawn out more.''
Florists have to hire extra help to meet the high demand at Valentine's Day, which also drives up prices, Sparks said.
Most of the extra proceeds from the price increases go to the growers, according to Kelly Dooley, cut flower manager for TFS Roanoke, a wholesaler.
``There are so many times a year where suppliers lose money,'' Dooley said. ``This is an opportunity for them to make some of that money back.''
About 136 million roses were sold at Valentine's Day in 1994, according to the florists' society. They expect about the same amount to be sold this year. Roses - 81 percent of them red - make up 39 percent of all fresh-cut flowers sold on Valentine's Day; 70 percent of all purchasers are men.
One local flower vendor has not followed the lead of florists.
At Harris Teeter, a dozen wrapped roses still costs $14.99, according to Shirley Fisher, floral manager at the Grandin Road Extension store.
Fisher said Harris Teeter can keep its prices steady because it gets most of its flowers from Ecuador and has no wholesaler. Instead, there is a company floral buyer who deals directly with growers. The price is part of a promotion the store has been running for two to three years, she said.
by CNB