What Florists Won't Tell Valentine Buyers

Valentine's Day is a week away, but when you order flowers for your special someone, there are a few things your florist won't tell you.

But Leigh Gallagher did, on The Early Show Wednesday, to help you spend the least and get the most for your money.

The SmartMoney magazine senior editor told co-anchor Julie Chen a-third of Americans send flowers on Valentine's Day, and florists make the most of that.

What they don't do is tell all.

Among the things they're usually tightlipped about:

THERE WILL BE MAJOR PRICE INCREASES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

This is Christmas for florists. They make the bulk of their money on this day, and you pay for it. Prices spike about 30 percent in the weeks before the big day. You might pay $125 for a dozen roses that normally cost $85.

But there are some very easy ways to keep your costs down with the type of arrangement you choose. If you send shorter-stemmed roses instead of long-stemmed, for example, you'll save $20 or more. They're just as nice, and they can actually be easier to put in a vase. Mixed bouquets are another way to save: You can still have roses, but if you intersperse them with some mixed flowers or imported orchids, you'll save. A mixed bouquet might save you up to $100, depending on the flowers you mix in.

Average Flower Prices:
$80 to $100 for a dozen long-stemmed roses
$60 to $75 for a dozen short-stemmed roses
$50 for mixed bouquets

THE INTERNET MAKES IT EASY TO ORDER THE WORST, OVERPRICED FLOWERS.

Ordering flowers via the Web is very popular these days, and there are a number of ways to do it. But there are also a lot of people looking to make a buck, including third-party brokers, or middlemen, who basically take your order and pass it to a wire service for a kickback.

They take a huge cut of the profits, so you're paying more than you need to. These companies are all over the Internet, and they use sneaky marketing tricks that make them appear as if they are local florists. Beware of claims that a site is "family-owned and operated" or that say, "We have a branch in your city." Instead, go with bigger, well-established sites such as Calyx and Corolla, ProFlowers, Flowerbud.com and Hallmark.

THE FLOWERS COULD BE HALF-DEAD BY THE TIME THEY ARRIVE

Some people like to buy flowers themselves and bring them to their special someone in person. The advantage of doing this is that you get to pick the flowers yourself, and there are actually some very easy ways to make sure you're getting the freshest flowers possible. Don't buy flowers that are stored near produce, especially apples: They emit a hormone that damages blooms. Don't buy flowers that are anywhere near a cash register: The elevated temperature isn't good for them. And avoid sidewalk displays: Exposure to car exhaust can decrease the life of the arrangement. (Your significant other might not like that you bought the flowers off the sidewalk, anyway!) Another thing you can do: Ask for a vase-life guarantee. Most florists will replace blooms that don't last at least five to seven days after the purchase.

To try to make sure flowers ordered online are fresh when they arrive, ask questions like whether they're transported at the right temperature, about 32 degrees Fahrenheit. But you'll never really know. You can, though, go to sites that sell flowers direct from growers. ProFlowers is one, BonnyDoonGardenCo.com is another. It's run by a woman who grows her own flowers in California.

DELIVERY TIMES MIGHT BE VERY LATE

The No. 1 complaint against the floral industry is late delivery, and the No. 2 complaint is not getting the delivery at all. Unfortunately, specifying the first delivery of the day doesn't help here, since deliveries are automatically planned by location and lumped together for convenience. The best thing to do is go with a company that offers a 100 percent guarantee. Florists plan their routes based on what's most convenient for them, but calling a florist at least three days in advance gives you a higher probability of timely delivery than calling just a day before or the day of. Also, it helps to call a local florist and order directly. When you call an online site that passes orders on to local florists (whether it's a third-party order-gatherer or a credible site such as FTD), the person taking your order doesn't always know whether the local florist receiving your order has reached its maximum delivery capacity.

ARRANGEMENTS MIGHT LOOK NOTHING LIKE PHOTOS

When you order flowers, you usually pick from a photo online or in a catalog. But the arrangement that gets sent doesn't always look like what you picked out. The florist might run out, or, especially with long distance orders, some retailers take advantage of the fact that the person who ordered the flowers won't see them. Most florists reserve the right to substitute, but you can ask them specifically to substitute something with like color or like value. If there's anything you don't want, specify. For example: No mums, no carnations. Again, here, there is a benefit of dealing with a local store. You can ask what it has in stock and tailor your arrangement to the freshest flowers available. If you order online based on a photo, also be sure to get the measurements of the arrangements: They can look bigger in the pictures than they really are.