Market Report for 9/6/19

Miscellaneous and Schedule Items

Standing Orders– The Fall Cream of the Crop deliveries start this week. Thanks for all your orders, and we hope you sell them profitably. We are now booking Year-Round Cream of the Crop orders. The cutoff for Custom Packs is Monday September 23, and all other orders must be in by Sunday September 29.

DVFlora Web Dumps– We will continue to process open web carts for the next day at 12 Noon, 2 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm through October 31.

Evergreens Prebook– Christmas will be here before we know it.  Remember that our Prebook cut off is 10/27.  Please be sure to get your orders in before that date for best pricing.
NOTE-  this year decorated centerpieces will be prebook only. Orders need to be in by 10/27.  We will not be carrying inventory on the items listed in the book as prebook only.

For complete information about the Evergreens program, see the bottom of this report.

Petal it Forward– October 23 is the date for 2019. This program, spearheaded by SAF, really started to take off last year. The idea is that florists go around their local towns and hand out two bouquets to people- one for them to keep, and one to give to someone else. It’s a great way to show people how great it is to receive flowers and build demand for your services, as well as throughout the industry. We are offering some discounted bouquets through our Grower Direct program to make it easier for you to participate.

Watch for more info, including how to register with SAF, and for marketing ideas and materials. And make sure you let your sales rep know that you will be participating.

Basics

Laceflower– Laceflower will be somewhat limited for a few weeks. Chocolate Lace will be EXTREMELY limited.

Alstroemeria–  Fall colors or Alstro (Orange, Purple, Red, Yellow) are in much higher demand than usual so they will be limited and priced high during the peak fall season. Peach is always very difficult to procure. There is only one variety grown and there just isn’t much available on a weekly basis.

Carnations and Mini-Carnations– As with Alstro, the demand for Fall colors outpaces supply, so pricing is accordingly higher. In particular, Burgundy and Peach are the most difficult to find. Even though there are several varieties of Peach Carns, be sure to sell by color not by variety, since you may not be able to get a particular variety.

Disbuds and Mums– Last year no California growers produced Mums (Garnet King, Ivan Hoe, etc). While there has been some talk about it this year, we don’t expect any production on these items to be available. However, there are some nice newer varieties available in good supply. See pictures below.

The popularity of Super Mums like the Magnum and Everest varieties is growing, so growers are starting to expand their offerings. Super mums are grown in a less dense manner, yielding a larger head size but with a higher cost. Watch for new Super Varieties like Super Candy Floss, Yellow Magnum, and Yellow Asteroid.

Mum Disbud Brz/Ylw Sole Mio #53670

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mum Disbud Red Magna #66067

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mum Disbud Red Tornado #60559

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mum Disbud Yellow Fuego, item #55385

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mum Spider Brz/Ylw Saffina, item #37373

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pom Pons– Most Fall varieties are now available.  Unfortunately, when this occurs, many farms cut way back on their production of White Poms. Demand continues for White, so pricing will generally increase as availability decreases.

Yellow Daisy Atlantis is turning out to be a poor performer for growers.  At least one large farm has eradicated the variety and while it may take some time, we expect most growers to follow suit.

Gladiolas– California production is steady; however, pricing is very high for this time of year.  We will only be bringing California for the DVFlora 13 packs and fill in when needed.

Local availability has been somewhat limited due a production gap the last week. They seem to be cutting more this week so our selections should improve in the coming days.This season is expected to go through mid-October (weather permitting).

Michigan Glads are on a roll!  The product has been nice and clean with tight blooms, and prices are very good. We expect availability through the end of September.

Solidago– This is a busy time for Solidago. We will be carrying 5pks- Item 20540. Anyone can use 5 bunches in a few days. The Red Tinted started coming in, and we will carry this through the fall season. We will also be carrying the Fall Assorted Tint again this year. They are all sprayed and the box includes Red, Orange and Yellow. Item # 56118.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roses

It is a pretty typical Rose and Spray Rose market for this time of year.

Red– there is a good amount of red in the market and prices are fair but on the lower side. We don’t expect to see this change until we head into November.

Colors– this is where it gets interesting.

• Basic colors– The market is not bad on regular non-seasonal colors, and we don’t expect it’ll change much throughout the season. There is a good amount in the market and even though demand is strong, the supply is slightly keepin up with the demand, so prices should remain fair throughout the season.
• Seasonal colors– Basic orange, bicolor, yellow etc, is still a decent market. There is a good amount of product in the market and prices are still fair. Based on previous years, this should change within the next few weeks. Normally, prices will increase and product will become limited, but manageable.
• Wedding varieties– Quicksand, Sahara, Amnesia, Playa Blanca, White Majolica, and those few others are extremely limited and very high priced. This will not change for the next 6-8 weeks. We do not expect to see much of these varieties available in the open market. We strongly suggest getting your orders in well in advance.

Be sure to check out these newer varieties of Spray Roses:

Spray Rose Mic Mac #34523

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spray Rose Sonora #23630- nice complement to Cherry Brandy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the “Flow” Series-

Fair Flow # 58940

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candy Flow #58938

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Novelties

Gerbers and Mini Gerbers– We are approaching that time where the most popular colors (Orange and Yellow) will be extremely limited due to low production and very high demand.  This will result in higher pricing as we near October and work our way through Thanksgiving.  We will utilize Holland Gerbera as needed to fill in the gaps.

The new Canadian varieties that were planted back in June are starting to come on now.  You will start to see them pop up in our inventory. You can also check DVFlora.com for updated images in the COC link: http://www.dvflora.com/index.php/cream-of-the-crop-2018-19/

Bittersweet– Our first shipment of Local Bittersweet has arrived.  Item # 27959.  They are a Growers bunch. (3-6 stems).

Pumpkins and Gourds– Our first shipment of Pumpkins and Gourds arrived this week. Right now we only have a few items available but we should see more availability the week of 9/16. You can find them on www.dvflora.com under Edibles > Produce > Gourds Pumpkins

Lilies– Production looks good from most regions, but California production on Orientals is a bit lower than normal for this time of year. Check out this interesting Fall variety: Lily Hyb Var Red Kaveri 3+, #28657

 

 

 

 

Anemone– We have good supply on Anemone.  PLENTY of White with Black Center (for now). That can change very quickly.

Dahlias–  Local Dahlia season has started, though they are still a bit limited. We are anxiously waiting our first shipment of New York Dahlias!  Hopefully the will start the end of next week or the following week. California has loads, though Burgundy is definitely becoming a problem in terms of availability, mainly due to high demand.

Tuberose– Tuberose usually has a production gap coming up soon.  Be careful promising them for the end of September and into October.

Calla Lilies– With wedding and event season is upon demand has increased. There is a good supply of Mini Callas but production of Large Callas is still lagging. This is normal for this time of year. We buy most of our Callas direct, so we cannot stress enough how important it is for you to get your large orders in at least 10 days in advance. Those that wait until the week before may have to take what we have in inventory.

Stock– We seem to be in a good shape right now with our supply of Stock from California. As you know that can change quickly. We felt that the supply from Ecuador this past week was tighter than I expected.

Larkspur– California larkspur is in a gap, but we expect supply to improve in about two weeks. We have supplemented with a few from Ecuador but they are also limited. White will be extremely limited and you will see shortages. Prices have increased from all growers.

Ranunculus– We have great supply on Ranunculus. White is plentiful, as are all of the other basic colors. Burgundy, Chocolate, and Purple are always an issue, especially the Burgundy, and this year is no exception. Please be careful taking orders for Burgundy Ranunculus. We just can’t get enough to cover our orders. Our Canadian source for Clooneys is still not ready with their production. Chile has been providing us with some, but they are smaller than Italian grown and even the Canadian grown. However they are all that’s available right now.

Bouvardia– We have a new source in South America growing Bouvardia.  Production is pretty small right now but they expect it to increase in the next few months. We will be carrying these for open market and filling in with Dutch where needed.

Hypericum– Production has been down the past few months in Ecuador.  They expect it to remain this way for the next few weeks. We have been buying from multiple suppliers to fill our needs, so you may see higher prices here and there especially with the popular fall colors- Red, Burgundy, Orange.

Lisianthus– Canada will start to see their production decline again, mostly just on the White.  This should last about 3 weeks. California production is pretty good from most suppliers. Peach won’t be available for at least 2 more weeks. Israeli started back up. Our first shipment arrived this week and the quality looked good.

Thistle– Dynamite- This has been an issue for the past few months and it has not improved.  The farm lost more than half of their crop and it takes time to rebuild. They don’t expect to see an increase until Jan/Feb. If you have to have Dynamite, make sure you get the order in as early as possible. We will continue to carry Alpinum and Bluebell daily. We will also bring in Supernova and Orion when it’s not super expensive.

Bells of Ireland– Supply is great and quality is great.

Waxflower– Waxflower is coming from three different locations- Peru, South Africa, and Australia. Varieties are limited so expect to shop by colors and particular varieties. Also be aware that price difference between these regions is large, so be careful selling particular colors at cheap prices.

Peru: The supply of 425-gram varieties was very limited and we expect we will run through the inventory quickly next week. There was a good supply of the other Peru Waxflower (325 gram).

South Africa: There have been some nice varieties coming from our South African supplier. Next week we should see, White Moonlight, Pink Kerryn, Pink Strawberry, and White Ofir.

Australia: This has been a struggle this year. There was a lot more rain than normal, and we saw a stretch of a few weeks with quality issues, but it seems that we are through that. Next week we are expecting Dancing queen, Juriens Brook, Pink Pride, and Pink Raspberry Ripple.

Heather– There is still no heather and at this point and we do not see any from California on the horizon. We hope to see some from South Africa soon.

Delphinium– Demand for Delphinium this year was strong up until the past week. Maybe it is the time of year. Production was tighter this week but there is still feel there is still a good supply and a wide selection for you to choose from. There may be a variety that is not available but we have plenty of choices to sub. We do expect to start to see some availability issues with Hybrid White as weddings and events ramp up and production decreases.

Iris– There seems to be plenty of Dark Blue but colors are limited. There is very little demand this time of year.

Snapdragons– There is still very good production but all good things end. The California growers expect to see some gaps as we move further into September, stay tuned. There has been a steady production of Snaps from Canada and we expect that to continue.

Matsumoto Asters– There is a good supply of Matsumotos, but demand had fallen way off the pace in recent weeks. We are buying cautiously and we ran out quicker than we would have liked this week. 

Dianthus– Dianthus Amazon, Purple, and Cherry are readily available. The Sweet varieties, all the good colors, are hard to come by, with only one of our growers in production. Sadly he informed us that he plans to eliminate this crop next year.

Scabiosa– Scabiosa Scoop varieties have been more readily available. It seems all regions are starting to produce. Demand for the Scoop varieties has kicked in and they are selling quickly.  With that said, the demand for Burgundy has outpaced the supply. We will run out of burgundy quickly. Expect this to be the trend throughout the fall and Christmas season.

Agapanthus– This has been pretty limited the past few months due to the weather in Ecuador.   The picture below was taken at the farm. As you can see there are lots of buds but no flowers yet. We expect to see an increase in the next few weeks.

 

 

 

 

Protea and Leucadendron– This is not a good time of year for Protea. It is limited, but we have started to see a few more varieties from South Africa and South America this week. Unfortunately the freight cost on these make them more expensive than when we are purchasing them from California.

King Protea demand remains steady. Blushing Bride is expected to end soon. We do have a nice supply for next week but we expect this to be finished by months end. There is a great supply and multiple varieties o Pincushion Protea. We will start to see more Pincushions from South Africa in the coming weeks.

Sunflowers– South American production is back on track and the supply has been good and all are loaded for next week. Local sunflowers are in a small gap so we may run out of your favorite grower or novelty varieties. California sunflowers are in good supply including a few novelty varieties. North Carolina Vincents are coming in for next week #36576. Unfortunately, hurricane Dorian may have put a dent in their production. They had a direct hit two years ago and have just started to recover. We are hoping for the best and will see what shakes out this week.

Other California Novelties-There are a lot of other peripheral novelty items coming from California that are very attractive this time of year- Pods, Herbs, Grasses, Yarrow, Marigolds, Craspedia, Leucadendron, Snowberry and Trachelium. Take a minute to peruse the inventory and try some of these items out.

Botanicals       

Hardy Mums– We are at the beginning of a season that is seems will not last very long.  Product is moving swiftly and blooms are tight. We have Half Bushel Assorted, 6” Assorted, 9” Assorted as well as 6” and 9” in solid colors.

Cabbage and Kale– These are expected to start towards the end of next week, around 9/12 or so.

Celosia and Aster– These have already started coming in.

Indoor Mums– Fall colors are on track and looking good.

Palms– 10” and 12” Arecas are too short to ship so they are unavailable right now. Our regular supplier of 10” and  12” Majesty Palms is currently sold out, so we are looking for another source to fill in.

Availability Issues– White and Pink Kalanchoes and Calandiva are off crop for the fall season. Rose bushes and Gerber Daisy plants are hit and miss, and quite difficult to find right now.

Greens

Eucalyptus– We are killing it with Euc!  Sales are up about 10% over last year, and last year demand was huge!  Will keep adjusting to meet your needs.

Emerald– We are still struggling with getting the right Emerald in.  Our sources are hitting many hurdles and our Emerald options are pretty limited. Tepe will be a problem for the next 10 days or so.

Pampas Grass– It’s fresh now, not dried!  G1819

Christmas Greens

White Pine Tips– The nightmare from last year continues. Quality was poor and we never knew when the next shipment was coming and how many we were getting, which left us disappointing customers. Now one of our large suppliers has decided not to sell them anymore. We were able to find another supplier but the pricing is higher. We did get 100 cases from this supplier last year and had no issues with the quality, so we hope they will work out well.

Boxwood Trees– We will be making our own trees again this year.  Last year we couldn’t keep up with the demand and had to turn orders away.  Please get your orders in early to ensure fulfillment.

White Pine Garlands– We are planning on getting the first shipment a week later this year- (most likely the 2nd week in November).  When we bring them in too early in the season we see a lot of brown needles that did not fall yet during the natural shedding process.  We hope that by waiting another week, those needles will have time to shed.

Holly– Please don’t take any orders before 12/1.  We won’t be receiving the first shipment until after this date.

At this point, the items mentioned above are the only major things to be concerned with.  We have lots of greats items.  Some new, some old, some redesigned.  Be sure to look over the catalog and take notice of the items marked as NEW or Redesigned.  Get them orders in and let’s have another great season.  It will be here before we know it.