460 million flowers traveled through this Florida city for Valentine's Day

Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·3 min read

Ah, Valentine’s Day. A day for chocolate, dinner dates, movie dates, giant teddy bears and of course, fresh flowers.

Around 18,000 tons of flowers arrive in Miami every Valentine’s Day, according to U.S. News and World Report, CBS and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

That equates to around 90% of the roses and fresh flowers that are cut and sold for Valentine’s Day. Those flowers all fly into Miami from across the world on planes before being redistributed to most of the U.S. and Canada. Miami processed around 460 million flowers from mainly Colombia and Ecuador this year.

And Miami’s local flower market is also thriving, according to a study from Lawn Love that ranked Miami as one of the best cities for local flowers in 2024.

Maybe Ashton Kutcher’s character in the movie “Valentine’s Day” should have owned a flower shop in Miami instead of Los Angeles, which ranked lower than Miami on Lawn Love’s list.

Here’s where Miami ranks on the list of best places to buy flowers locally this Valentine’s Day and why.

Miami beats San Francisco, LA for the best local, fresh flowers

Lawn Love evaluated the 500 largest U.S. cities using 11 metrics, like how accessible fresh flowers and flower delivery are, the quality of local specialty-cut flower vendors and demand for flowers in each city.

New York took first place, while Miami placed close behind in second.

Here’s Lawn Love’s list of the top 10 best U.S. cities for local flowers:

  1. New York, New York

  2. Miami, Florida

  3. San Francisco, California

  4. Seattle, Washington

  5. Los Angeles, California

  6. Chicago, Illinois

  7. Portland, Oregon

  8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  9. St. Louis, Missouri

  10. Houston, texas

Why are locally grown flowers better in Miami?

Miami has between seven and eight flower shops per square mile, 155 plant nurseries and garden shops and almost 30 flower delivery services, according to Lawn Love’s study.

House of Lilac and Zoom Bloomz at Midtown Garden Center are some of the most popular local flower shops in Miami. There are also plenty of higher-end, luxury flower shops, like Miami-based Maison la Fleur, where the cheapest flower arrangement is around $160.

Is it better to order from a local florist?

Buying from a local florist is better than buying from a grocery store or chain florist because it supports the local economy, locally grown flowers can stay fresher for longer and buying local leaves less of an environmental footprint, according to Lawn Love and Shital Poudyal, an assistant professor and specialist in the Department of Plants, Soils & Climate at Utah State University.

How do you know if a flower is fresh?

“Avoid flowers with petals that are wilted, rustic, and have brown spots. If available, buy flowers that are just beginning to open and still in the bud phase. Those flowers tend to be fresh and last longer,” Poudyal said in Lawn Love’s study.

“When flowers are not shipped or handled appropriately, buds will be soft. A fresh flower will have tight and firm buds that can easily be felt with a gentle touch.”

Poudyal also recommended to check the stems. Flowers with slimy or swollen stems typically aren’t fresh.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florists in Florida are among best in the country, this ranking says