Photo: A Rose is A Rose is A Rose. Where is your Rose From?
It is mid-February and most of the U.S. is frigid and covered in snow. So where do the endless Valentine Day fresh roses come from? Well, actually Colombia helps Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day by exporting 450 Million roses to us.
“They sold out” is just not an excuse, men. The United States bought the humble amount of 450 million flowers for this St. Valentines from Colombia this year; that is 37 and a half million dozen, and represents 80% of the flowers produced in the Andean nation.
Valentine flowers come mostly from Colombia (69% of the roses you’ll see this Valentines, sprouted in Colombia) , though the number one exporter, with a four-century track record of flower exporting is Holland.
Roses are harvested young before they blossom: these “rose buttons” must be kept at a steady 39.2̊F to preserve their quality, and that includes temperature controlled warehouses, freight trucks and airplanes.
Flower cargos are inspected before traveling across hemispheres, to ensure that the product is not contaminated and is free of plagues, and once again when they land in Miami or other ports of entry, some 40 different companies pick them up, and transport them in trucks throughout the US.
It is estimated that the US buys $260 million dollars in roses every year, but these numbers change with the exchange rates, so just how much do we men overpay on Valentine’s and Mother’s Day, remains unclear.