With Gas Prices Rising, So is the Cost of Flowers

The price of gas is slowly reaching $4 a gallon, but this is not the only thing increasing in price — so are flowers.

Russ and Stella Pennise are the owners of Flowers by Stella; they started their business 33 years ago, when gas was only 50 cents a gallon, at that time they did not have to charge anything for delivery.

They even thought it was a catastrophe when gas rose to a dollar a gallon. They joined a florists’ cooperative to cut some of the costs, but they had to commute to the meetings which didn’t make it worthwhile. They had to find other ways to cut down on spending.

They are now buying bulk so that they get some discounts, which Stella is not too pleased with as they didn’t have to do that in the past.

Nowadays they have to charge around $5 to $13 per delivery.

Many florists are feeling the strain on their pockets due to fuel costs. Pam Hale, who is also in the flower business, estimates that just from last year florists are spending 30 percent more than last year.

The good thing is that despite some of the problems florists are having people understanding about the rise in delivery costs and there hasn’t been a decrease in the purchasing of flowers.

[Via: MPNnow.com]