Florists face a Valentine’s Day like no other

With Valentine's Day approaching, florists say they are seeing strong demand due to the holiday and an unprecedented number of funerals tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report produced by Yahaira Jacquez.

Florists in Los Angeles, California have never experienced a February like this one: while some customers buy bouquets for their significant other ahead of Valentine's Day on Sunday, others order flowers for a different occasion.

Fatima Padilla: "Honestly, it is a little busy because there are many more orders for funeral arrangements.

A lot of death because of what's going on.

So right now it's very busy." The $35 billion floral industry is perhaps more involved in family joy, grief and milestones than any other.

And as flower sellers across the U.S. approach Valentine’s Day, the nation is still in the grip of a pandemic.

And in some states, death rates are hitting record highs.

It's been especially hard in Los Angeles, says flower stylist Nelly Botello: "It's a little sad to see that many people come to ask for funerals arrangement when it should be all about love." Mark Chatoff, CEO of the California Flower Mall, one of the country's largest markets in downtown Los Angeles, said that when the state imposed its first lockdown in March, some florists closed down because big events ended almost overnight.

Then came the pandemic.

"Now we're looking at, you know, there is still demand for floral products, but it just looks a little bit differently.

It might be, sadly, a funeral, you know, also to brighten someone's home because you're under a stay-at-home order, and so there is a lot of that too." The surge in demand for flowers in recent months has strained the supply chain.

Fatima Padilla: "They come from Mexico, from Ecuador, it depends on where we order them.

Right now, we have hardly received any flowers." The crunch, felt by seller Fatima Padilla, has led to a rise in prices, funeral wreaths, for example, have gone from about $85 to $120 in just a few weeks.

One Los Angeles seller told Reuters that with prices so high it's been tough to tell grieving people how much funeral flowers cost.

And said that her store managers have even been forced to turn away families asking for funeral flowers because of the Valentine's Day demand.