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Roses for Valentine’s Day
The most popular valentine
flower is the rose. According to URI Floral Arts Instructor Peggy Siligato,
the cut roses sold by florists for Valentine’s Day come from all over
the world. On the Plant Pro, we featured RioRoses, grown in Ecuador and
distributed in New England by R.J. Carbone Floral Distributors in
Cranston, R.I. Other
well-known brands of roses include Sunset, M&M and RosaPrima.
Besides Ecuador, roses are grown in Colombia, Holland, Israel and
the United States (California).
How can roses grown so far away still look
fresh and beautiful for Valentine’s Day?
The secret lies in keeping the roses chilled from the time they are
cut to the time they leave the florists. Roses that are held at 35 degrees
F are essentially put to sleep. University studies show that flowers held
at 35 degrees F throughout the distribution process had a vase life that
was two to four times longer than flowers maintained at 50 degrees F. So, for example, RioRose precools the roses at the grower’s
in Ecuador, ships them to Miami on dedicated jets, processes the roses in
Miami in a temperature controlled distribution center, and then ships them
to Carbone’s in Cranston in temperature controlled trucks or jets.
Roses are sold by stem
length, ranging from 40 to 70 centimeters (16 – 28 inches). A
traditional “long-stemmed” rose is 70 centimeters or 28 inches long.
The longer the rose stem the more expensive the rose. This is
because long stems take more time to grow and are more difficult to
protect during handling and transport. Roses also are much more expensive around Valentine’s Day
because demand is so high. Expect to pay 2 to 4 times more than usual
prices for roses during the week or two before February 14th.
The R.J. Carbone Co. and
RioRoses sponsored a rose fashion show to preview the hot new rose
varieties available for this Valentine’s Day. If you see a variety on
the list that looks interesting, ask your florist if they can order it for
you. Some highlights from the show:
Charlotte is one of the most
popular red roses. It has bright, velvety leaves
and a long-lasting
flower that opens beautifully
into a star shape. It also has a
large bud and high petal count.
Tineke is the number
1 selling white rose. Its bud is true white with a hint of green. The
flower opens bright white and emerges fully into a large blossom. It has a
large classic bud.
Anna
is a spectacular light pink rose. Its color is a creamy, soft pink with
dark pink tips and splashes of hot pink on the outside petals. The Anna
opens fully into a large, garden-like blossom.
Virginia is in the same
family as the Anna. It is creamy white with a hint of pink, with a very
large bud and a high petal count.
Gold Strike is
predicted to become the top selling yellow rose. It has a brilliant, rich
yellow-gold color and
opens the most slowly of any yellow rose.
It also boasts a long vase life.
Ambiance is a lovely
thornless rose. It is pale yellow with red trim and has a long vase
life.
Konfetti is a
yellow novelty rose. It is one of the longest lasting colored roses on
the market. It is creamy golden
yellow with red margins on petals and boasts a large bud and a
very high petal count.
Sari is one of the
orange roses that have become popular recently. Sari is a soft apricot
orange color. It has a high petal count and opens fully.
Blue Curiosa is
a lovely, medium lavender color with lighter outer petals. It has a
beautiful fragrance and a longer vase life than other lavender roses that
tend to be short-lived.