This guide is a flower buying experience from a florist perspective filled with secrets of the trade to buying fresh flowers. This is based on our own experiences with flowers and as a reliable, experienced, professional florist in San Francisco.
Let get right into it, first thing is first, when you first enter a flower shop, we recommend you take a look around and take in all the bright beautiful colors, sweet aromas, and beautiful symmetrical flowers. Next, it is time to see if anything catches your eyes. Perhaps you’ve found your recipients favorite color or favorite flower. That’s usually a great starting point to build your bouquet around. We also recommended to keep your occasion in mind when choosing your flowers and colors. You wouldn’t want to send mixed signals or bring informal flowers to a formal ceremony, occasion or event. For example if the occasion is a new born baby flowers, it would be good to know the parent's likes and dislikes. Typically new baby girl’s get pink flower arrangements and boys get a blue flower arrangements, but this can vary depending on the preference and choice of the parents, traditions and customs. Another example is flowers for romantic occasions. For the first couple of dates, Some might like to start with pink flower arrangements to show interest of love and eventually get into the passionate red colors for when they know how they feel. We also recommend looking at our “Meaning of Flower Colors - Florist San Francisco” in relation to flowers blog post to get ideas for your floral bouquet or you can simply ask your florist. Learning about what colors mean in regard to flowers makes it easier on deciding what colors are appropriate for your occasion and your personal bouquet. While there don't forget to checkout our blog on "Meaning of Flowers - Flowers San Francisco".
When looking around in the flower shop, do not forget to look inside the fridge. Many people overlook the refrigerator when choosing flowers. The fridge is where most of the high end flowers are kept. It is important to note that while high end flowers are usually kept in the fridge, there are also flowers specific to or prone to cold temperatures like Tulips. Tulips are temperature sensitive flowers. When in cold fridge temperatures, Tulips do not open. It is only in room temperature or preferred cool temperatures, that they will open. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is, most cut flowers like to be kept in cooler temperatures. It’s never a good idea to leave your flowers in warm temperatures or areas such as near the stove or in sun light or near the heater as it can shorten the life expectancy of your flowers significantly. In general, cut flowers like to be stored in cool places in your homes or office or resting display spot.
Finally, after taking a look around, when you’re ready to put your bouquet together and when choosing your flowers, check for the flowers stem length. When you find a bucket of flowers you’d like to choose from, choose the longer stems of the same flower as the longer stems are usually from more recent shipment of flowers. The longer stems usually means newer and more fresh the flowers are. Don’t be afraid to ask your florist questions about flowers or how to buy flowers. Some people simply don’t have much experience buying flowers. And that’s OK. That’s where our experts at Fillmore Florist in San Francisco come in to help. We can build a beautiful bouquet for you if you help us a little by choosing your favorite flower or flowers and or your favorite colors or both. By knowing this information and your budget for your flowers, your florist can build your beautiful bouquet that’s perfect for you and your recipient, one beautiful bouquet of flowers that is also occasion appropriate.
At Fillmore Florist in San Francisco we like to pass on knowledge to our consumers to ensure the maximization of the life expectancy of your fresh cut flowers. So here are some tips when choosing your flowers based on an experienced San Francisco florist. When choosing your Roses, gently squeeze the Rose buds. Fresh roses feel hard to the touch. Another indication you have fresh Roses is when taking off the protective petals layers of your roses, there should be a slight crispy crunchy sound when taking off the petals. The louder the crispy crunchy sound is, the more fresh the rose is.
Hydrangeas are one of our favorite flowers because they’re so resilient. Fresh cut Hydrangeas like to be cut every other day or every three days when first bought and eventually cut everyday thereafter. The hydrangea flower is pretty remarkable flower and plant in that when the flowers start to wilt, they can typically come back to life with a proper, fresh cut. You don’t have to cut a lot off of the stem. You just have to refresh the cut at an angle making sure to cover as much surface area with a diagonal cut. Sometimes, even when the hydrangea flowers are wilting, a fresh cut can bring them back to life unless they’ve lived their full life expectancy. At our flower shop, we usually have hydrangeas on display that have survived so long that they are shorter in size yet still fresh as the first day. We do not guarantee this for every hydrangea, but we continue to see this amazing transformation at our flower shop all the time. It’s achieved by maintaining the flower properly and refreshing the cut. It’s truly pretty amazing to florists and we can only imagine to scientists alike. Cutting your hydrangea flower will make your hydrangeas last significantly longer than not cutting them. We are speaking about a week or more time to enjoy your beautiful hydrangeas. Lastly, Hydrangeas love lots of water. Typically it is recommended that you fill your container to the top with water when arranging or maintaining your cut hydrangeas. The further high the stems are covered with water, the better.
It is important to note that shorter flower arrangements drink water faster as the water has shorter distance to travel to reach from top of the stem to the petals.
When buying Lilies, pay close attention to the leaves. If the leaves have brown tips, it is also usually reflected on the actual flower when they open. Healthy leaves equals healthy flowers. One misconception with Lilies is that if you take off anther pollen it will reduce the life expectancy of the flower. That’s not true at all. At Fillmore Florist in San Francisco we take off the anther as much as we can on purpose due to its rich pollen and staining. It’s also important to point out Lilies are hazardous to cats. Lilies can also be fragrant. When ordering your flowers make sure to note to your florist if the recipient has fragrance allergies.
When buying sun flowers play close attention to the leaves. Again healthy leaves equal healthy flowers. Sunflower flower arrangements enjoy a lot of water, so make sure to fill your container or vase with as much water as possible. Refresh the cutting every three days and change the water.
When maintaining your flowers, you can cut off leaves to allow more water to reach the actual flowers itself.
If you have a local florist that is your go to florist for your floral needs, Ask them when they shop or when their floral shipments arrive and try to buy your flowers around those days. A busy florist goes to the flower market everyday. Typically the more your florist goes to the flower market the more fresh flowers they carry. It’s like a busy restaurant. A busy restaurant typically means the food is fresh because they’re selling it fast with little to no left overs. Though flower shops may not be busy with people in them all the time, they can get busy with online orders. So when your florist tells you they go to the flower market everyday, it’s a great sign they carry fresh flowers because they run out of fresh stock. Fillmore Florist is your reliable florist in San Francisco.
If you’re ordering flowers from online for delivery in San Francisco, be sure to pick a reputable florist who will deliver your flowers straight to the recipient's front door. There’s usually a delivery fee as delivering flowers is a delicate delivery job. The delivery person has to make sure the flowers get there in one piece the way it was designed. Sometimes a single flower delivery can take up to 20 minutes at the destination to get to your front door. That’s why there’s usually a delivery fee. Thankfully, flower delivery in San Francisco is easier than ever with Fillmore Florist San Francisco. With 100% success rate flower delivery in San Francisco, Fillmore Florist San Francisco is a prominent florist in San Francisco proudly serving joy with flowers for over 25 years. Our experts use their knowledge to make sure you always get the freshest, highest quality flowers in store and for your online floral deliveries.
