What the *#@*?! There is a flower shortage?!

December 18, 2022

Yes! The flower industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented shortage of flowers and the greatest supply & demand imbalance in decades. Flower prices have gone up, and continue to go up and wholesalers and us florists alike are scrambling to fill orders. Have you noticed that grocery stores don’t have nearly as many flowers as they usually do?!


So far, we here in Oregon have not been affected too much by the flower shortage but I am told that is about to change. While we have had trouble over the past year getting other products such as hard good, vases, containers, etc…flowers have not been too much of an issue thanks to our amazing local growers but now that our growing season is coming to an end, we will have less product to choose from. Also, I am told that prices for many high demand varieties are increasing at least 25%! Yikes!

 

Why is this happening you ask?!  

There are many factors that have contributed to the current situation and many things that are out of our control (lookin' at you, Mother Nature!)

 

The main culprit here is our ol’ pal Covid-19. Covid forced many farmers to shut down their farms during the lockdown and pull-out crops as they didn’t have the staff to tend them much less harvest them. Sadly, many crops were left rotting in the fields. They are now all playing catch-up, which takes time.

 

Extreme Weather

As always, weather plays a huge part in farming, in both food and flowers. But over the past 2 years, many growing regions all over the world are experiencing extreme weather – drought & storms, slowing down the growing process or rendering many crops unusable.

 

Demand has Skyrocketed

During the Pandemic, people turned to flowers to send to loved ones they couldn’t see in person, as well as using them in their own home to brighten up their quarantine spaces.

In addition, as states are opening back up, weddings& events have returned in full force, with two years-worth of weddings happening in one! The supply has not yet been able to catch up to this sheer volume of events happening.

 

Costs have Risen

Other products & industries have experienced rising costs as well, which then affect our industry. Most notably transportation costs, which have skyrocketed! While no one knows for sure how long this will last, we are told that these shortages will continue through the end of the year and possibly into the 2022 wedding season.

 

What does this mean for those of you planning a wedding or event?

 

While there is a major shortage, that does not mean there are NO flowers. There are still plenty of flowers available but we ask that everyone be flexible and understanding and trust us or their florist to do their best to make each wedding beautiful no matter what.

For those of you who have already booked your wedding or event, we will honor the prices we quoted and will do our best to get the flower varieties we talked about and will substitute something as close as possible if we are unable to get that particular variety.

 

Be flexible and understanding. There are plenty of gorgeous options that can be subbed for many popular flowers and know that we are doing our best to fulfil your vision of your big day.

 

Book your wedding early!!! This is the best advice we can give. The sooner you book, the sooner we can order the flowers you want. While we cannot guarantee getting the exact variety you want, we are at least in the front of the line for what is available. But whatever the outcome, we promise that your wedding flowers with be lush and beautiful.

In closing I will leave you with the the words of Dalia Lama, “Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.”