In Danville area, supply chain woes plant problems for florists on Valentine’s Day | Local Business News

Order as soon as possible.

They agree flowers will be available, but vases and other supplies are another matter.

“The supply chain is a mess,” said Terry Shadrick, owner of H.W. Brown Florist. “I’m thinking fresh flowers will be OK, maybe just a little spotty, but the hard items like vases and the oases are a mess.”

The oasis is the foam in the bottom of a container that the flowers are stuck into.

“Oases are completely gone. There are none,” Shadrick said. “They have disappeared from the marketplace.”

He said he had heard that a factory in Ohio that made the foam they like to use had burned down, but he wasn’t sure on the details. He just knows he is trying to do floral arrangements without Styrofoam.

Red satin ribbon is also scarce, but he hopes to get some before Valentine’s Day.

He said the funeral home orders have been the most impacted by the shortages.

But he suggests for Valentine’s Day that customers order early.

One problem this year is that Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday, making the weekend a busy time for the florists.

“We probably won’t deliver on Sunday since businesses are closed and people aren’t home,” Shadrick said.

He suggested people have flowers delivered on Friday or Saturday.

“If they are delivered on Monday, it might not get there until the end of the day, and then [the recipient] will think they have been forgotten,” he said. “So order early — at least a week ahead — and be flexible with what you want.”

Mel Goad, whose mother, Nancy Goad, owns Motley Florist also suggested ordering early. In the past their business has had lines snaking down past to the next building on Valentine’s Day.

“Order early,” he said. “Just like with anything else. We have already ordered vases and supplies and are just waiting for them to get here.”

He agreed that the day of the week makes a difference with Valentine’s Day business since people prefer to get flowers at work and show them off.

Vickie Brown, the owner of Giles-Flowerland, said they are hoping they will get all the supplies they need for Valentine’s Day.

“So far we have been able to get all the flowers we need, but we are still trying to get vases,” she said.

Their supplies and flowers come from wholesalers in Kernersville, North Carolina.

She plans on the employees working the whole weekend since Valentine’s Day is on Monday.

“And, hopefully, there’s no snow,” she said.

Brown said the biggest effect of the pandemic was getting plants during the first part of it.

“We’ve also had trouble finding someone to work,” she said.

Shadrick said that the pandemic particularly impacted funeral orders with the lack of supplies for arrangements.

He also had trouble getting plants early in the pandemic, but fresh flowers were just a “spotty, not a chronic” problem.

Their flowers come from South America through Miami and then are either flown or trucked up to wholesalers in Greensboro and Graham, North Carolina.

Goad said that the pandemic affected getting flowers into nursing homes.

“One nursing home didn’t allow any deliveries for a year,” he said. “People got upset when nursing homes shut down. But most facilities were accommodating, and I understood and did what they wanted me to do.”

Most of the nursing homes accepted deliveries but had the flowers dropped off at the front door.

“I haven’t seen where COVID affected business for either Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day,” he said, noting that the two holidays are usually neck-in-neck for business.

He said that online sales have also increased during the pandemic.

Shadrick and Brown are expecting a good demand for flowers this Valentine’s Day.

Just order early, they all agreed.