By Charlotte Shipman
The look of love can come with a hefty price tag.
In Wellington a dozen long stem red roses, on Valentines Day, can cost up to $250.
Going for the more subtle option of a single stem can still sting.
A single rose complete with diamante will cost $25.
At Wellington florist Daisy a Day 12 roses wrapped comes to $145. Usually it would be around a $90.
Sarah Gibson says the hike comes from the growers who hold back the flowers for six weeks so there are enough blooms come mid-February.
“They are putting in all that effort to grow them especially for this day, so they have to put their prices up and therefore we do,” she says.
Fellow florist Robert Best says most florists are not rorting roses.
“You buy dear, you sell dear, because demand is there,” he says. “We basically make the same margin, really.”
But in this industry margins can blossom too.
One bunch of roses came from a high-end Wellington florist and cost $220. Another bunch is from the Warehouse and cost $20. But apart from the price, is there really any difference between them?
Horticulturalist Gareth Richards says the flowers are nearly identical.
“There's no difference in the quality of the flower here at all, the buds on these are just a bit smaller than these.”
He says the extra greenery and packaging would cost $15 at the most and without it it is hard to tell which is which.
Tomorrow they will have even more in common when both bunches will be worth next to nothing.
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