Gloriosa & Rose Arrangements, post-Valentine’s

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Amazing what a difference a few days makes in the prices of flowers. The day before Valentine’s my suki flower sources were offering local roses at say PHP400-500 per bunch of 20 stems, and they weren’t the finest quality. Other sukis who imported roses from Chile for the holiday were asking a whopping PHP2,100 per DOZEN roses, larger than local, but not large enough for those outrageous prices. So I didn’t buy any roses for Valentine’s, I waited until 5 days later, drove to Dimasalang, and they were practically begging me to buy the loads and loads of flowers in stock. Ten bundles or 200 of the longest stem roses that just arrived minutes before from Baguio were just PHP700 for all of them. Yup, for the price of four Chilean roses less than a week before, I ended up with masses of roses. On the same trip, I also ended up purchasing several stems of Gloriosa lilies, for say PHP30 a stem or so…

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…at the beach the next day, we put say 10 stems of gloriosa lilies into a huge laboratory style beaker vase and it looked great in the living room. Visible through the glass doors from several sides of the house, it was a nice way to spruce up the place and it cost such a modest amount to boot. I really like these lilies, and would buy them more often if I chanced upon them at the markets. They last about 4-5 days if well taken care of.

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A close-up look at the blooms. The last time I featured this was in a ginormous Christmas arrangement, here.

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The roses, despite their wonderful long stems, were cut back and massed in low ceramic jars. We just didn’t seem to have an appropriate set of vases at the beach to keep them at say 3-4 feet in length. We managed to make some arrangements, with perhaps 40-50 blooms each. For less than the price of a large chocolate bar, you could have given your Valentine one of these (excluding the vase which I am assuming you could use some vessel or other from your home) arrangements instead. :)

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If cared for properly, meaning they are allowed to drink water for several hours after you get home, then cut back cleanly with a sharp knife, put into water with flower food, and the water changed daily, these roses could survive up to a week in reasonable shape. If you want to save a small fortune, just wait a week after Valentine’s to buy your flowers… Then with the savings, rent a nice hotel room with access to a beach. :)

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10 Responses

  1. MM, Care to share which vendors are the best ones to go to? I went in the middle of January and was being quoted about P120 for a dozen roses. Cheap, but nothing compared the prices you’re getting. Is it that I’m looking at the wrong stores or I’m not buying enough (only about 3-4 dozen per vendor).

    I’ve been reading all your posts on flowers to get an idea of average flower prices per variety on non-peak days. Just so I get an idea of how to haggle.

  2. Knifenut, I don’t even know the names of the stalls… but here is a description. Near the Chowking branch, is one end of the market, directly behind Chowking is a warehouse like set-up with stalls within. These tend to be a bit more expensive, and they make ans sell bouquets as well as flowers for weddings, etc. Just walk down the main road with flowers to the OTHER end of the market, crossing a road in-between. At the other end are rose wholesalers, with styrofoam boxes around, and roses stacked high on shelves. At this time of year, the longest stem roses are PHP70-90 per bundle, that have 20 roses in each bundle. The prices you are being quoted must be for the arranged versions… I only go to Dimasalang a few times a year, so I wouldn’t even say I had “sukis” per se (though I do, as they remember me from the previous visit and I tend to buy a LOT on any one visit)… but just bargain hard and buy significant amounts to get the lowest prices.

  3. I really admire your versatility sir MM. I don’t do this stuff but these are amazing arrangements, you can start a flower shop I guess.. :D

  4. Ganda ng lilies nyo… I got 2 plants with white/yellow flowers. Nakatanim sa small house ko sa Quezon Province.

  5. what are those three ivory-looking pieces beside the vase in the first picture, MM? am almost sure they are shells, like those used as wind chimes (not capiz). am i right?

  6. millet, no, I think you are referring to three modern sculpted canoes or boat hulls, done in white marble or alabaster. They are visible in full in the second photo…

  7. Aha! The photographer’s reflection is clearly seen in the center of the vase in the first pic. Hehe… =)

  8. Hello everyone! Can anyone please recommend a good store in Dangwa that has the widest variety of flowers with reasonable prices? Also, what flowers do well with crimson red roses? Thank you so much in advance to all who will share their thoughts! :-) I just urgently need to finalize the flowers that will be used at my uncle’s wedding on August 18.

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