Valentine's Day Coming Up Roses

Americans love a holiday, and the next big one -- Valentine's Day -- is coming up roses. In fact, Americans will buy 189 million stems of roses for Valentine's Day, according to the California Cut Flower Commission. They should know. California, after all, supplied more than 173 million stems of roses last year -- out of the 1.3 billion stems sold -- in addition to 66 million stems of lilies; 72 million stems of iris; 77 million stems of Gerbera; 26 million stems of callas; 27 million stems of stock; and 59 million stems of tulips. Gotta love that California sunshine because it makes pretty flowers. That state supplies approximately 26 percent of all cut flowers sold in the United States. On an annual basis, 30 percent of U. S. households make a purchase of fresh cut flowers; 34 percent buy bedding and garden plants; 20 percent buy flowering houseplants; and 12 percent buy green houseplants. And, as for roses. Not only are they big sellers for Valentine's Day, roses also are the single most popular fresh cut flower with consumers all year-round.