Baltimore Florists Struggle With Flower Shortage Before Mother's Day
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- If you haven't bought flowers for Mother's Day yet, then you should act now.
There is a global flower shortage impacting florists here in Baltimore before the holiday.
Flower shops are at their busiest two times a year.
"Valentines Day is our Super Bowl and Mother's Day is our baby Super Bowl," Flowers by Chris Head Designer Joshua Whaley said.
With Mother's Day right around the corner, florists are getting ready.
"Not everybody's got a lover, but most people got a mother, you know what I mean," Whaley said. "So, you gotta get flowers for mom."
Joshua Whaley is the Head Designer at Flowers by Chris in Mount Vernon.
Whaley's team is ready for the holiday, but it hasn't been easy. All florists are dealing with a global flower shortage due to supply chain issues and lack of flowers growing.
"The wholesalers that we do have, they're even struggling getting shipments and how much things are costing now to do so," Whaley said.
Whaley says the shortage impacted the shop on Valentine's Day.
So, for Mother's Day, they've ordered extra to make sure there's enough. However, he said customers need to buy early.
"If you're going to order Mother's Day flowers, order them soon," Whaley said. "Definitely do not wait. That's with any big holiday."
WJZ spoke with a customer getting his Mother's Day flowers early.
"It seems like there's a shortage of everything," Josh Gorsky of Baltimore said. "I'm very lucky that I live in a neighborhood where there's a florist right by my apartment."
Florists hope the next growing season is better.
"Hopefully that going forward they'll start growing more, just like they used to and by next year, fingers crossed, that we'll be back up to some great abundance of flowers," Whaley said.
Flowers by Chris said peonies are the hardest flowers to get for Mother's Day because a lot of people are using them for weddings right now.
The florist said flowers are costing more this year because of inflation. They recommend buying in bulk to save some money.
