Extra Effort Keeps Len Busch Roses Going Despite Supply-Chain Issues
For millions of people out there, Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day of the year.
But if you’re in the flower business, “hectic” is probably a more appropriate description for the season.
“Most people are probably putting in an average of about 12 hours days at this point, so very busy,” said Georgia Edgington, the lead floral designer at Len Busch Roses in Plymouth.
Len Busch Roses supplies flowers to independent shops and grocery stores throughout the five-state area.
Many of those flowers originate in South America.
“We have semi-trucks full of flowers coming in about every two days and just, they’re non-stop,” Edgington said.
It’s the job of staff members here to arrange those flowers and get them sent out to local shops so they’re shelf-ready by Valentine’s Day.
Supply-chain conundrum
However, this year has presented some unique challenges due to supply-chain issues.
“A lot of flights out of South America have been delayed due to different things happening in their economy and with labor in their area as well,” Edgington said. “And that delays getting flowers on trucks in Miami. And then sometimes things happen in Miami and it delays getting trucks up here.”
A staff member at Len Busch Roses sorts flowers for Valentine’s Day.
When a truck finally does make it to Plymouth, it’s all hands on deck to get the flowers arranged and out the door.
It’s an additional level of stress during an already busy time.
“It might mean that someone hops in their car and does a personal delivery once that truck has arrived to make sure that we’ve got the flowers in their hands,” Edgington said.
The goal this year is to get a couple million roses into stores. As difficult as that task may be, they know they’re doing important work to help people say, “I love you” on Feb. 14.
“What we get to do every day is to spread smiles and bring smiles to people through the flowers, and the joy that it does bring,” Edgington said. “I think that’s really key for us, remembering that that’s our focus, and it’s really key to help keep our spirits up during stressful times.”
Edgington also says costs are up this year due to inflation. As for whether consumers will have to pay more out of pocket for flowers this year, that decision will be up to the individual flower shops.
