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Florists Take Heart On Valentine's Day

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By HAROLD VALENTINE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2008

CARROLLWOOD - Florists in Carrollwood and surrounding neighborhoods are ready for their busiest single day of the year, Valentine's Day.

Larry Montesano, who owns Carrollwood Florist, 11707 N. Dale Mabry Highway, has two 40-foot-long, refrigerated truck trailers filled with flower arrangements ready for Valentine's Day.

Montesano, who owns the business with his wife, Sheryl, said if florists are not thoroughly prepared for the holiday then money will be lost.

He said he will have 18 drivers deliver 700 to 1,200 orders, with many more walk-in orders. Montesano's delivery prices, like most florists, start at $9 to $10 and increase depending on distance.

"We'll work 48 hours straight, cutting, cleaning, arranging flowers and filling these trucks," Montesano said. "As the orders come in we'll tag them. That's the only way we can get that kind of volume done."

Montesano, who has had the business for 20 years and has been at his current location for six years, said 60- to 70-centimeter stemmed roses rule the holiday. The normal price for a dozen at his store is $59.95, but because suppliers drastically raise prices he charges an additional $20 during the holiday.
Montesano said he tries to absorb the increases, especially due to gas prices, by having 10 percent discounts on arrangements of all price ranges. Medium-length roses there are selling for $24.95 per dozen.

He said he has a "more elegant" alternative than the traditional dozen red roses, a bouquet called the Victorian Garden. It includes tulips, lilies, iris, gerberas, daisies as well as roses for $75 to $80.
Oakie Young, owner of Artistic Florist of Tampa, 2509 W. Busch Blvd., said she has noticed many younger women prefer alternatives to the typical dozen roses.

"A lot of the girls now don't want to be as traditional as their mom or grandmother," Young said. "It's kind of a trend right now."

She said variations of tulips, daisies, carnations and stargazer lilies have been popular. However, she said she runs out of roses almost every year. Long-stemmed roses sell there for $80, including a vase, and medium-stemmed roses sell for $20 to $25.

Though Valentine's Day is Young's busiest day, she said the week of Mother's Day is the busiest because "everyone has a mother, but not everyone has a sweetheart."

Her shop, unlike many, has a drive-through window for customers on the go.

Cheri Williams, owner of Flower Patch, 1721 W. Fletcher Ave., thinks men shouldn't wait until the last minute.

"For Valentine's Day," she said, "men should learn to order early."

Her regular price for a dozen long-stemmed roses is $59.99 but became $15 more after Sunday. Williams said she does 25 percent of her annual business on Valentine's Day.

Williams' son, Dennis Williams, is a paramedic and gets about 10 Tampa firefighter buddies to help deliver flowers. "They know the areas," Williams said. "They can deliver 40 to 50 arrangements a day."

Williams said mixing arrangements of red roses with flowers such as stargazer lilies, which have a strong fragrance, is a good idea. She said most red roses come from massive crops from South America that often do not yield much fragrance in their roses.

Helen Triba, owner of Rosebud's Florist of Carrollwood, 13100 N. Dale Mabry Highway, said she has noticed folks gravitating away from roses because "it gets boring," she said.

"In fact," she added, "I've heard from a lot of different friends this season say they're so bored with flowers, period, that they're going to be taking three- or four-day weekend trips, or the ever-present gift card."

Her long-stemmed roses are selling this year for $84.95 a dozen. Triba said she gets plenty of walk-in traffic because her shop shares a plaza with Publix, Steinmart, The Melting Pot and Bonefish Grill.

But Triba, at the location for 15 years, added without a quality product and excellent customer service, that traffic is worthless. She said that's why people shop at her store and do not get their flowers from grocery stores. "Our reputation goes out the door with everything we do," she said.

Kathy Gilbert, owner of Northside Florist, 13642 N. Florida Ave., said someone in her family has owned the shop since 1962. She has noticed the popularity of alternatives to roses on Valentine's Day.

"A lot of young people are willing to do things other than the traditional," Gilbert said, "like something with tropical flowers and orchids."

However, the ever-popular long-stemmed rose sell by the dozen there for $75.

FLORAL SHOPS AROUND TOWN

•Artistic Florist of Tampa, 2509 W. Busch Blvd., (813) 932-6116

•Buds, Blooms & Beyond, 11234 W. Hillsborough Ave., (813) 818-9600

•Carrollwod Florist, 11707 N. Dale Mabry Highway, (813) 962-1917

•Cherished Blossoms, 7889 Gunn Highway, (813) 926-5578

•Flower Patch , 1721 W. Fletcher Ave., (813) 269-9743

•Kabloom Carrollwood, 15708 N. Dale Mabry Highway, (813) 264-9844

•Milly's Flowers, 5015 W. Waters Ave., (813) 885-5884

•Northside Florist, 13642 N. Florida Ave., (813) 264-1811

•Prestige Florist Baskets & Gifts, 5383 Ehrlich Road, (813) 962-6961

Reporter Harold Valentine can be reached at (813) 865-1526 or hvalentine@tampatrib.com.

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