Speed Matters When Shipping Fresh Cut Flowers

Fresh Cut Flowers

Have you ever wondered why some roses last two days, while others last two weeks? How long you get to enjoy your flowers depends mostly on the care taken to ship the delicate blooms from field to store.

Whether you send or receive flowers on Valentine’s Day, here’s the behind the scenes story on the journey flowers take from field to vase. Shipping flowers is a lot like shipping produce—a process involving refrigeration, speed, and expertise. Trouble can happen at any point, but the quicker the trip and the more constant the temperature, the longer blooms can last. That’s why many in the floral industry care deeply about extending vase life, which is the time you actually get to enjoy the flowers before they fade.

According to the Society for American Florists, about 85 percent of fresh cut flowers—roses, carnations, chrysanthemums–are imported primarily from South America. Look at the graphic below to see all steps it takes to quickly get a flower from a South American field to a retail store in the U.S.

I wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day.

C.H.Robinson
Administrator
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