Two Different Roses From The Same Bush

The big difference in rose prices at Valentine’s Day deserves explanation.  Kate Newlin, author of  “Shopportunity! How to Be a Retail Revolutionary”, as referred to by Joan Oleck, Critic, Bloomberg News, wrote: “Consumers can easily become addicted to the dopamine rush of getting a good deal, like all real junkies, and begin to confuse their wants with their needs.” 

Shopportunity in floriculture is when we start out with an anticipation about romance, then pursue the best deal on roses, enjoy the prominence of presenting roses to the recipient but alas, a day or two later the roses are dead.  There is no appreciation as there should be from the process of buying and giving roses at Valentine’s Day.   What went wrong and what’s missing?

First, the quality factor was sacrificed for the best price factor.  Secondly, there is little in the way of presentation - the WOW factor -found at the lowest price retailers.  

Roses grown by the same grower, figuratively speaking on the same bush, can easily be channeled into two extremely varied quality (price) groups.  It all boils down to what happens during post-harvest care of roses.  Because roses command a higher price at Valentine’s Day when demand is expected to exceed supply, growers can harvest roses at an early stage of development [i.e. bud stage] and arrest their development by storing them at a specific temperature so continued development is suspended.  This is called “pickling”.  So now a low price/low quality rose can be sold at 6 to 8 times the cost.  A rose grower/broker knows this rose is not going to be purchased by a local [professional] florist.
 
The grower or broker who knows his product is going to the local florist whom he services 52 weeks a year will not deal with pickled roses.  He wants a rose that is graded by stem length and handled according to industry standard post-harvest processing.  During post-harvest, a quality rose will come through the Cold Chain standards that must be adhered to by all handlers between the grower and consumer.
 
The retail florist is the next to the last handler of a rose.  When a Cold Chain shipment of non-pickled roses arrives at a florist the post-harvest standards must be continued.  This includes using sterilized buckets, cutting the stems under water, using de-ionized water, adding chemicals and cut flower food and then storing the roses at temperatures of plus or minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit in a specially engineered florist type cooler.
 
The last handlers of roses are the consumer and/or the recipient.  They too should follow the instructions given to them when they pick up or receive their roses.  
 
Following Kate Newlin’s theory, a satisfied rose consumer starts out with the ANTICIPATION of nurturing a romantic experience with roses, then goes in PURSUIT of buying the roses and wisely chooses quality over price, enjoys the PROMINENCE of presenting the roses, and lastly APPRECIATES the results he or she expected.  That is a good formula for ROMANCE MAINTENANCE.
 
What is the difference?  The lower cost roses may average a 1 to 3 day life.  The higher priced roses can last 3 to 4 times longer. 

Yes, a cheap rose and a quality rose could figuratively come from the same bush - each with a different level of care, a different manner of presentation and a different resulting sense of satisfaction and appreciation.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Tom Carlson, AAF
Fairview Florist
Janesville, WI