Flower Shortage Update:

You may have been noticing that over the past several months there has been a shortage of fresh-cut flower availability, especially compared to pre-pandemic times. There is currently a worldwide flower shortage. Unfortunately, we believe this lack of availability will continue for the next several months, as it will take some time to resolve the issue.

There are several reasons causing this shortage:

• BAD WEATHER - Much of the production issues have come from weather issues in South America. Many of our flowers come from this region. In Ecuador and Colombia, production has been slower than normal due to a La Niña Effect. This unique weather pattern causes cold air and excess moisture to flow off the coast of South America and onto the growing regions, causing flooding and impacting production and availability of flowers from both areas. South America has had one of the coldest and wettest years ever. In addition to this, there was also a volcano eruption in Ecuador. Much of the flower crop was destroyed. 

• HIGH PRODUCT DEMAND & LABOR SHORTAGE - Due to COVID, the flower demand has increased, as people are sending more flowers to loved ones who they can no longer visit, and to funerals. Farms struggled with preparing new plantings during the shut-down phase of the pandemic. This was in part because of labor shortages and an unknown outlook on future demand, resulting in less flowers to meet the unprecedented current demand. Holland is also experiencing a similar situation with plantings and labor, causing high product costs.
  • This isn't specific to flowers. House plants have also been affected by the high demand and labor shortage. When the world closed a year ago many farms shut down or fields were allowed to go dormant and then some got disease because they weren’t cared for. We are still getting in plants on a weekly basis, but not all plants are available to us. If you are looking for something specific, please call us to check on the status of that plant type.

• SHIPPING DELAYS - As you know, there have been a limited number of passenger flights from all origins this past year. This has caused a reduction in air cargo space, where product would fly in the bellies of the planes, resulting in high freight costs and clearing delays. Our wholesalers have been trying to keep up their normal supply, but are limited on what they can get in stock in a timely manner. They are getting in less than half the number of shipments they are accustomed to receiving. 
  • This has not only affected our flower supply, but our industry has also been experiencing shortages with certain hard goods (vases, special containers, gift items, etc.) and select lines of botanicals (house plants and blooming outdoor plants), which has certainly magnified the situation. 

What this means:

We are still getting in fresh flowers every day, but we are limited on certain types of flowers. Many of the flowers that are in the arrangements on our website are on backorder, with no known date of return, as of now. We cannot promise that we will have the exact flowers in the arrangements shown. Because of this, all orders are subject to substitutions as needed. Our designers will take care to maintain the aesthetic and value of your original choice. Our number one priority is to create beautiful, high quality arrangements for our customers, as we have for the past 58 years. We strongly recommend that you select a Designer's Choice arrangement for the best mix of flowers for the value of your choosing. If you would like to speak to a designer about your arrangement, please call us at 317-831-3333. 

Thank you for your patience and continued support during this time.

For further updates, check out our Facebook page or website. If you need to reach us, please feel free to e-mail us at budandbloom@aol.com or call 317-831-3333.