High prices hit sales of popular blooms, florists say

In the United Kingdom, florists say surging prices for cut flowers are tamping down demand for popular blooms. In Cambridgeshire, Andrea Moat runs Elizabeth's Florist on Chatteris High Street and has watched staple varieties rise sharply. She said chrysanthemums, long used in floral tributes for graves, have surged to around £10 a bunch, up from about £2 before the Covid-19 and Brexit era. "The price of flowers is ridiculous. Previously in the summer-time prices fell, but these days they are just staying the same," she said. Several regular customers have turned away, she added, choosing other gifts or fewer bouquets.

The higher prices are part of a larger inflation pattern, the British Florist Association said, with flower costs tracking inflation seen in wages, energy bills and Brexit-related paperwork. They noted that price swings for chrysanthemums are season-dependent because they are grown in the Netherlands and require more energy in autumn and winter. "Prices of flowers are in-line with all other inflation products — their production is reliant on all the factors that the country has seen price increases on," the association said. "Wage and National Insurance increases, energy and Brexit-related paperwork will all play a part — however, they are in-line with inflation, unlike other products."

But the pressure is not limited to consumer prices. Bonnie Twigg, who runs Twigg and Bows in Peterborough, said there were up to 12 florists in the city a few years ago but now you can count them on one hand. She estimated the price of flowers had risen about 130% in the last few years. Dutch growers have reduced production because of rising energy costs across Europe, and some have folded altogether. "It’s not just the UK buying flowers from Holland, it’s Germany, France, etc. And less flowers puts the prices up at the auction," she said. Ms Twigg noted that traditional florists cannot compete with supermarkets on price, but the blooms they supply differ in weight, length and grade.

Leah Francombe, who runs a home-based floristry business near Ely called Darling Buds of Wilburton, said she has seen changes in how people arrange wedding flowers as costs rise. "A lot of people repurpose flowers at weddings now," she said. A couple might use a floral arrangement for the registry part of the day and then move it to where the wedding breakfast was held, to get the most out of one display. "Button-hole flowers used to be for the whole wedding party, but were now just for the groom and immediate family. "Years ago, flowers were at the top of the list for a wedding - now they are at the bottom," she added.

The British Florist Association reiterated that flower prices align with broader inflation, noting that their production is influenced by the same cost pressures affecting many sectors. It added that chrysanthemums tend to fluctuate with the season, since they are grown in the Netherlands and require more energy in autumn and winter.

The broader market context includes ongoing energy costs, wage and National Insurance changes, and Brexit-related paperwork that continue to weigh on production and distribution. Some growers in Europe have curtailed output in response to higher energy prices, and a shift in demand toward more economical arrangements is evident in wedding and funeral settings. While consumers remain willing to buy flowers for special occasions, the combination of price and value is reshaping buying patterns, according to florists interviewed for this report. The association emphasised that despite volatility, flower prices are broadly in line with inflation across the economy, and ongoing supply challenges in Europe contribute to tighter auctions and higher wholesale costs.