Why Mother’s Day Floral Arrangements Will Be More Expensive In 2021

After many were forced to spend Mother’s Day apart in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are now looking forward to seeing their loved ones again for the 2021 holiday, with loosened restrictions and vaccinations allowing some to celebrate. However, those planning on bringing flowers to their mom may need to be willing to shell out a few extra dollars for their arrangement.

According to the Associated Press, several factors have led to a shortage of popular flowers for Mother’s Day—including roses, ranunculus and anemones—and the cost of flowers is sky-rocketing as a result. After shutdowns from the pandemic made it harder to predict retail sales figures, and weather conditions in growing regions that were unfavorable, supply is low—and demand is high.

As a result, prices are running much higher than average, with Aaron McKinnon, the manager of Mayesh, a vendor at the Los Angeles Flower Market told the AP that a bouquet of 25 roses has risen in price to anywhere between $30-$60, up from the typical $16-$30, while other flowers such as hydrangeas are also seeing an increase in price after wholesalers and vendors saw their price for them increase as well.

As for why the shortage has happened, it is the result of a perfect storm from growers planting less due to uncertainty over how the year would play out, after shutdowns and cancellations of events last year led to a decrease in demand. In addition, unseasonably cold weather in Colombia, Ecuador and other regions that traditionally produce more flowers added to the tight supply. Labor shortages were also a factor, and many farms were abandoned during the pandemic entirely.

However, while the Mother’s Day weekend will still be tough and see prices that are higher, it is believed that the supply should start to grow again, with cooler weather warming, which should make for a better supply in the summer and fall months.