Cheap Flowers

Cheap Flowers
Why are flowers so expensive?  You can easily spend $200.00 just to buy your girlfriend a bouquet.

They are expensive because they take a lot of time to grow.  There is a lot of man power involved to create and distribute the plant.  In addition, many florists simply can’t sell all the plants and that drives the overall price up.  However, there are many ways to get plants and flowers for a lot less money.

Grocery Stores Have Cheap Prices
Grocery store flowers are a lot less expensive than floral shops.  For one thing, growers send their best quality to floral shops.  Grocery stores are getting the lower quality and cheaper products in the first place.

Most floral shops are quite small.  The owner needs to make a living off selling plants.  For grocery stores it’s just a small add on.  The grocery store doesn’t plan on making a huge amount of money off flowers.

Volume is another factor to consider.  Grocery chains can buy so many more flowers than small florist shops.  You need volume to keep the price down.

When buying flowers you are really purchasing service.  If you want something really special, the local grocery bagger won’t probably be that much help.  Local florists value comes in when they cater weddings, funerals, and make special arrangements.  In addition, they always get the best flowers in the first place.

Out of Season Sales
If you want spring bulbs, you can get them at Costco in early spring for a real bargain. They are often available for reasonable prices at Home Depot; as well.  You can’t really time these purchases because the items are available in the spring and not available any other time. 

With plants it’s a different story.  If you wait until late fall, the plants will be sold at a huge discount.  Nurseries are anxious to unload all their inventory.  Your selection will be somewhat limited, but if you don’t mind you can get really good bargains.  Many of the items sold will look dead.  They aren’t dead, but have just died back for the winter.  Don’t be afraid to buy these dead looking plants.  They will come back in spring.

Buy From Growers
Local growers will sell to almost anyone.  Most will sell to the public at a much reduced price.  The trick is to do the homework and find out who sells what.  They don’t do much advertising.  If you see a large area growing something you want, go in and ask.  You could also get in your local gardening club.  These people will know every place imaginable to get plants at a discount. 

Get Cuttings from Friends
Most plants will grow with a simple cutting.  Just cut off part of the plant and put it in water with liquid fertilizer and watch the roots start to grow.  If you do a little research, you can get almost any plant in your neighborhood for free.  All it takes is a little bit of work and a few friends.

Grow Your Own
If your spouse loves red roses, why not plant some.  A well designed yard will provide enough flowers that you can have beautiful bouquets spring, summer, and fall.  That way, you’ll only need to buy flowers in the winter.  It is totally worth your time to have the yard designed properly for your bouquets.