Pro tip: don't pay $45 for wholesale roses in July

I was at the LA Flower Market last Wednesday and almost dropped $45 on a box of Freedom roses. Looked fine in the cooler but the stems were rubbery. Guy next to me said check the guard petals. They were already black. So I walked over to a smaller vendor and got the same quantity for $28. They lasted 10 days instead of 3. Now I always peel back a few petals before I buy. Do you test your flowers before you pay or just trust what you see?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_olivia8d ago

Wait, hold on - you're confusing guard petals with the actual bloom condition. Guard petals are supposed to look rough, they're there to protect the inner petals during shipping. Blackened guard petals don't mean the rose is bad, that's totally normal. You wanna peel back the first few guard petals and check the actual flower petals underneath for any rot or mushiness, not just judge by the guards themselves.

the_rose7d ago

Yeah but how do you actually tell the difference between a guard petal that's just naturally dark and one that's actually rotting? I've had roses where I peeled off the guards and the inner petals were fine, but also some where the black spot was spreading deeper than I thought. Is there a smell test or something specific with the texture you look for?