Flash Report for Week 5

Roses

We would expect the industry to be at or getting close to holiday prices by midweek.

• At the beginning of this past week we were hearing some pretty inexpensive prices on reds roses. That was basically an attempt to clean out some aged product from coolers in Miami. Some wholesalers took advantage of that low priced product and have quoted some of your customers some very low Valentine’s prices. At some point, despite their individual inventory levels, Miami will be at high prebook prices. We expect this to happen starting Monday 2/1, Tuesday and maybe even Wednesday at the latest.
• Farms are gearing up for Vday shipping. Anything the farms are producing now is being used for their holiday prebooks (pre-sold). Therefore, anything the farms are offering is unsold production. Of course none of the farms are offering red roses but they are offering colors. This tells us that the farms are for the most part sold out of red (particularly freedom, charlotte) but need help with colors.

 Botanicals

• Don’t forget to get in your Valentine’s Prebook Dish Garden orders by Wednesday 2/3 for delivery the week of 2/8.Ask your Sales Associate or shop http://www.dvflora.com/ today.
• We have some real nice Mini-Rose Bushes, perfect for the holiday.
• Check out our selection of Bulb plants, Heather and Orchids in single and double spike.

 Novelty

• Stock-It appears that there was not much damage to the stock in the Baja, which is where the majority of our stock comes from this time of the year. Stock from the Desert is virtually non-existent which will put a strain on the supply chain as we progress into Valentine’s Day. 
• Larkspur was still a challenge with very little white and light pink available. Hopefully we will see increases in the numbers in the next few weeks. There is a modest amount of Larkspur Assorted 10 packs for sale for this week. 
• California Snapdragon availability is still limited for next week. Again, Casitas seems to fill our orders when others can’t.  Yellow, Purple, Lavender and Orange remain difficult to find. Recently Bob Wilkins visited Casitas farms and reported the Valentine’s crop looks good!!  Canadian snaps again will be limited to White and Pink with a very small amount of Orange, Yellow and Lavender.  
• The Lisianthus market remains tight, due to weather conditions. California is still very limited for next week.  We will have some Israeli and Ecuador to fill our needs.
• There was a bridge that was washed out in Vizciano Mexico, so the growers have not been able to move their Sunflowers North. The feeling is that the bridge will be repaired and they should have ample supply beginning this coming Saturday.

 Basics & Greens

• Emerald is back, should not see any further issues.
• We are seeing the same situation from our Carnation and Mini-Carnation farms as from our rose farms. All production at this point is going to cover standing orders and pre-booked orders. There are very little additional product offerings at this time. For a long time we have been seeing farms running leaner with lower production to maintain profitability. This is the result of that effort.
• It is getting difficult at this point to come up with additional pink Alstroemeria from our farms.

 Fillers

• Regular Pink and Hybrid Pink wax is probably going to be an issue at the Holiday. Not only is it featured in the wire services elevating demand, the cold weather and the rain has slowed production of Waxflower considerably. Several Growers have come back to us and cut our original orders drastically. So far all of our customer orders that have been pre-ordered are covered.
• We are still able to get a good supply of Heather for the holiday.
• At this time there seems to be a good supply of fillers, Gypsophila, Statice, Aster, etc. Prices are fair and even a little sharper then previous Valentine holidays.
• Limonium has gotten very tight in the market. We will see a strong increase in price, those who took advantage of our prebook are really winners here.

 Supplies

• We now will be stocking a Heat Gun for shrink-wrapping gift baskets.  The product code is #S3833. This 350-watt, 600-degree gun is perfect for shrink-wrapping baskets, drying ink and re-melting adhesives.
• We will be bringing in Mother of Pearl Pillar Candles and 3″ Mother of Pearl Floating Candles soon. Great Wedding item!

 Look For…

• Palm Sunday and Easter look for information immediately following Valentine’s Day.
• Spring Cream of the Crop information will be inserted in our March 2^nd Distinctive Values.
• One of the industry’s best Grower Direct programs just keeps getting better. We have added another Holland Broker, Tuning, along with Mellano and Company and Esmeralda Farms. We now have farm direct offerings being offered directly to our customers from fifteen of the industry’s top growers. Our simple to use, web based ordering systems is linked to dvflora.com and lists offers at least two weeks out.

 Product Info…

 Everything That You Wanted To Know About… By Ace Reporter Felipe Bernal

– HEATHER –

 According to the Cut Flower Commission, California is considered the originator of America’s commercial cut flower industry, which began in the late 1870s when a Ventura housewife, Theodosia Shepard, was inspired to sell the flowers she raised in her garden. Soon, other women were following suit and bringing their backyard beauty to the local market, and the retail florist profession was born. 

 California dominates the domestic cut flower industry because of its favorable Mediterranean climate, which allows for year-round production of an enormous variety of flowers.  Today we bring to your attention the HEATHER.  Heather is a very fragrant small flowering shrub that will outlast most of the other flowers in an arrangement. This small filler flower is available in pink and white. Its sturdy woody stems make the flower easy to work with. Don’t pack Heather to tightly it likes a little breathing room to prevent mold growth.

 The botanical name for the Heath family is Ericaceae, which is derived from the Greek ‘Ereike’, meaning heather or heath. The name most commonly used for this plant is of Scottish origin, presumably derived from the Scots word HAEDDRE. Haeddre has been recorded as far back as the fourteenth century, and it is this word, which seems always to have been associated with ericaceous plants. 

 It is said that some of the finest brands of whisky derive some of their most delicate flavors from the heather.  In the mountain regions of Europe the plant is still used to make a medicine for arthritis and rheumatism by softening the herb in alcohol.  From Heather you can find tea, honey and many more uses in the medicine.