Novelties
Callas– Local Calla production has picked up. For now, we will bring them in on Tuesdays for Wednesday/Thursday/Friday delivery. If the production increases we can add another day, but for now this is the schedule. If you haven’t tried these, make sure you get some while they are available. All of our other Callas are bought Farm Direct, so for any large quantities or special orders, you should let us know by Monday the week before you need them at the latest to have the best chance of getting what you need.
Ethiopian Hypericum and Veronica– Our supplier in Ethiopia has informed us that they are having an issue with a labor strike at one of their farms. This is affecting the availability of Yoko, Diablo, and Rio varieties of Hypericum, as well as all Veronica.
Stock- There is a good supply of Stock and prices have come down. We expect this to be the case for a few weeks. Please be aware that Lavender, White, and Purple are the colors in high demand, but we in order to get those colors we need to buy all the other colors too, so try to use those colors too.
Larkspur– Larkspur production, other than purple, is still limited. We expect available quantities to start to increase as the weather warms out west. Until then, we could see shortages on all but purple.
Tuberose– The Tuberose crop will be off for the next couple of weeks and we will have VERY limited availability.
Bells of Ireland– We have a good supply coming in for next week. Demand has been higher than expected. Below are a couple of photos one of our growers shared of his crop that will be ready soon. We like to share field photos so you can see what it looks like before it arrives to us. It also reminds us that our product is grown out in the fields, subject to Mother Nature, not churned out in a factory.
Heather– Heather is FINISHED for the season in California. The next opportunity for Heather will be from New Zealand, which is still some time away. Sterling Range has begun, but keep in mind that it has a very short season. We don’t expect to see this beyond April.
Snapdragons– Production has improved but demand is lacking. Our Canadian supplier was flushing on Medium Snaps. Take a look at the great special for 10 packs of Medium Assorted.
Matsumoto Asters– Matsumotos became very difficult to find. Unusually cold temps in CA, plus a heavy cut for Valentines Day, have created a shortage as the crop struggles to recover. Expect shortages for the next few weeks.
Protea and Leucadendron– Silver Brunia is finished for the season. In its place, we will begin with Spray Brunia which has a much smaller berry. We have some coming in for next week. We will also have some Brunia Albiflora Gray, which would make a good sub. Please see the photo below.
The supply of Pink Protea from California seems to have tightened with fewer varieties available. We will start to look to our South African suppliers in the next few weeks. King Protea from Hawaii is back and we have started to see some from California.
Brunia Albiflora Gray
Iris– Dark Blue Iris is back in good production and demand has been surprisingly strong. There is also a very nice supply of light blue, purple, yellow, and white. For all you North Carolina fans, production is in full swing. There will be dark blue, purple, white, light blue and yellow.
Snowberries– White Snowberries from Chile have begun. Below is a photo of our first box being packed up in Chile and heading to DV.
Basics
While the Valentines rush is over, there are a few holidays coming up in the next few weeks that won’t impact our demand, but they will impact floral supply:
3/8 is International Women’s Day – Farms swill be shipping product 2/21 – 2/28 to EU countries more heavily than normal.
3/11 is Mother’s Day in England – Farms will be shipping product 2/27 – 3/3 to England more heavily than normal.
3/17 is St. Patrick’s Day – Carnation farms will begin holding White Carnation production as of 2/26 to cover their needs for Tinting.
Alstroemeria– We are in pretty good with both Assorted and Solid Colors for next weeks delivery. For the next 5 – 6 weeks, we will not be bringing in Solid Alstro varieties in Select grade. We bring in Select solid colors during Holidays to cover our increased demand, but during normal weeks expect to see only Super Select or Premium Solid colors If you need Select grade, we can try to get solid colors in case lots for you (10-12 bunches).
Carnations– White Carnations are limited in production, and the production that is there is starting to be held to cover the needs for St. Pat’s tinting. This will cause shortages of White Carnations for the next few weeks, which in turn will increase the price of Assorted Carnation boxes due to the need for White in the mix.
Tinted Green Carnations– For the past few years, our QC person in Bogota has worked with one farm on the tinting process and will make inspections of the product prior to shipping. While this is costly for us, we have seen greatly improved quality in recent years, with very little burning, under-tinting or over-tinting.
Waxflower– There is a good supply of Waxflower from California for next week. Warm temperatures have brought on many of the hybrid pinks early and some varieties have finished. We are seeing varieties that normally would be available mid April. This leads us to believe we will see limited Wax for Mothers Day. One of the larger growers in CA. told us that they are seeing color on many of the late varieties we would normally see in May. Stay tuned!
Fillers– With decreased demand for the next two weeks we look to be in good shape with Gypsophila, Limonium, Statice, and Laceflower. The Canadian crop of Statice looks to be on time. We expect to begin seeing Canadian Statice mid-March. Pricing will increase this year as the Canadian Minimum wage has increased $2.50 per hour as of 1/1/18. Unfortunately, agriculture is a labor intensive industry and this will be passed on in increased cost of product,
Lilies– As mentioned previously, 2 Bloom production is VERY limited. LA production is off for Costa Rica due to weather. California doesn’t seem to be producing any Pink Brindisi, which combined with shortages out of Costa Rica will impact supply.
Mums and Poms– Both Mum and Pom production look to have come off their high Holiday levels. With lower levels of production roughly matching the lower demand, pricing should remain fairly stable and reasonable for the next few weeks.
Gladiolas– DVFLora Assorted Hampers are still unavailable for next week but we’re hoping to see them for early March. California are still limited to assorted hampers but the quantity of hampers being offered to us has been increasing. That’s definitely a good sign! Mexican availability seems to be good. Costa Rica has limited availability, so we will only bring these in to fill in when necessary.
Japanese Flowers
Allium – Now in season, we have a few novelty varieties available, Dancing Perfume, Snake ball and White Cowani.
Brassica Green Napus – NEW item this year, this is a unique green leafy Brassica, check it out below:
Sweet Pea – Now is the best time of year for Sweet pea. The Sweet Pea love the cool temperatures and low humidity. These conditions are optimal for the highest quality of the year.
Ranunculus – The Ranunculus are now in full production. We have several novelty varieties and The Huge CARNO and RHONE varieties.
Gomphrenia – now is season, red Strawberry variety
Spirea – Wow is all we can say about these two beauties. Now through March is the season. We carry two varieties- Cantoniensis and Thuunbergii.
Lindera Citriodora – This is unique flowering branch, this starts off looking like a green berry branch but those berries open to to a beautiful white flowering branch.
Anemone – The Anemone are looking fabulous, we have Light Pink, Hot Pink/Fuchsia, Purple, Red, White w/black eye and White w/green eye. The colors are vibrant and the heads are HUGE.
Astilbe – now available , please note only Light Piink and White are available from Japan. The White is very limited currently, we are getting only minimal quantities.
Pansy – Yes that is right, cut pansy. We have them in two different sizes, 20cm and 40cm.
Asplenium Crispy Wave Foliage – currently this item has very low production, we are getting only very little quantities.
Smilax – in season – available year round
Cosmos – in season now, we have Chocolate and Red available
Gloriosa Lily – available year round in several colors – Red, Pink, White, Yellow and Orange
Lisianthus – available year round, grades / price points vary. A 5 stem bunch of this is as large as most 10 stem bunches and the flower size is very large. Very unique color and varieties.
Scabiosa – in season now, many colors/varieties are available
Tweedia – available year round – available in Blue, White and Pink
California Farm Report
It feels like the weather is playing opposites this week! The east coast is in the 70’s and we are in the 40’s! There was a freeze in a few growing regions this week it has not been determined what affect it will have.
Larkspur is still in short supply but definitely on the come back. Bupleurum has been a production issue but is now more readily available. Sunflowers are in a short gap and are returning for next week. Waxflower continues in full production now we are seeing a multitude of colors and varieties available opening stage has improved especially for hybrids. Stock is in excellent supply and of very good quality this year. Snapdragons are starting to come back into good supply. Kale is abundant and showing good color. Heather is still available but in end of season supply. Gerbera has also continued to be limited and will be that way until early March.
Tulip, Iris, Hyacinth and Lily production are strong. The short season on Narcissus varieties like Cheerfulness are here but only last a couple of weeks. We are seeing good quality Matsumoto Asters and Dianthus. Anemones and Ranunculus are coming back into production. Fillers are limited to Solidago, Green Mist and Queen Anne’s Lace. Genista is done for the year. Flowering branches are also coming in; Forsythia, Quince and Peach. Diosma and Leptospermum are now available. Pincushions are starting to become available from our northern farm. These tend to be longer and intense color.
All Eucalyptus are in good production except Seeded, which has turned to cup already. Myrtle, Olive Branch, Salal, Acacia, Agonis, Grevillea and African Boxwood are in good supply.
Botanicals
Florida Foliage Plants are hard to get! All foliage in all pot sizes, especially 8in, 10in and larger pot sizes – Aglaonema, Dracaena, ZZ, Ficus, Croton, Philodendron, Sanseveria, Schefflera. All of these listed, plus many more, have been extremely difficult to secure. Everything that survived the hurricane and was at normal size has been sold through. The shortage of shade cloth certainly set every nursery back from being able to replace the product that did not survive. Now that they have been able to plant new material, they are trying to catch up and keep up with the STRONG demand for foliage plants.
We currently deal directly with about 25 foliage nurseries in Florida, and about 90-95% of the items on their growing lists are marked as N/A or Out of Stock. Plants are smaller and shorter! Growers are selling the smaller product regardless of previous specs and are selling for regular price. Everyone needs to be flexible. We are now buying from many new sources just to try to find all that we need.
In time, all will be back to normal but this Spring is going to be very different for sure. For now, before promising any foliage plants and any particular sizes, check with your sales rep and be prepared to wait until we can find a source and get the answers you need. It is taking us much longer to to locate product due to the current situation. We will do our best to source product with your desired specifications. You should assume that any inventory on hand is most likely not the size you are accustomed to seeing.
This situation is not ideal but it is certainly real.
Great Info! Thanks, Andy