1. What makes us different?
2. Why do these differences matter?
3. Not all farms are created equal.
4. How old are your flowers?
5. How cold are your flowers?

Fall River Florist Supply provides floral retailers with fresh top quality flowers at competitive pricing. Although all businesses selling flowers to retailers promise fresh top quality flowers, we actually deliver what we promise!

We recognize that a floral retailer today has more options for buying flowers than ever before. Regional wholesalers, despite changes in name, location, and ownership, continue to dominate flower sales. But they are now joined by an increasing number of brokers offering flowers by telephone or on-line. More and more Miami brokers call retailers(frequently not disclosing that they are brokers) offering “farm-direct” flowers. On-line brokers have also proliferated offering flower auctions or other selling systems.

What makes us different?

Almost all of our flowers really do come from top quality growers with whom we deal directly. Because of our close relationships with many of these farms, we know when the flowers are cut and shipped. Many South American farms ship to us almost every day. We go to great lengths to expedite the transportation to Fall River and to maintain a temperature controlled environment. We use a state of the art real-time inventory control system enabling us to sell with confidence flowers that have not yet arrived in Fall River and deliver them to customers very soon after arrival. And finally, we have an efficient and punctual delivery system using temperature controlled vehicles. In each respect, we surpass what any of our competitors are able to do.

Why do these differences matter?

Although all businesses selling flowers to retailers promise top quality flowers, what really matters when it comes to the quality and freshness of flowers is the farm where the flowers are grown (and the post-harvest system of that farm), the time it takes for you to get the flowers once they are cut, and the conditions under which the flowers are kept (the temperature and handling of the flowers) between the time of shipment from the farm and delivery to you.

To fully appreciate why our system results in better, fresher flowers, it is important to understand the process by which flowers are grown and made available to retailers. Although most retailers think they have a reasonably good understanding of this process, the process has a richness and complexity few retailers truly understand.

Not all farms are created equal.

Most floral retailers appreciate the significant difference between different varieties of the same flower. But not as many appreciate just how different a variety grown at one farm can be from the same variety grown at a different farm. A rose grown at one South American farm can look and perform very differently from the same rose variety grown at a different South American farm. Although the plant may be purchased from the same breeder, the type of root stock used, the way different types of greenhouse materials filter light, and the many factors that comprise the post-harvest process (including the grading, post harvest treatment, wrapping, and packing) all contribute to what are often very significant quality differences.

Fall River has carefully selected its farms and has established long-term relationships with many of these farms. We visit these farms often and advise them on many matters including flower variety selection, cut stage, and packing, in order to continually improve quality.

How old are your flowers?

Do you know how old the flowers are when you receive them from your supplier? Not likely. A number of factors contribute to this lack of information. In most cases, the company selling you flowers, be it a regional wholesaler or broker, does not know itself how fresh the flowers are. And even if you did know the age of your flowers, you probably would not like the answer. Most flowers are held too long in too many places. The grower may hold the flowers waiting to sell them; the importer similarly may hold the flowers in Miami or elsewhere; and the regional wholesaler likewise often has a substantial inventory of flowers that are unsold and may not be sold for days.

Many steps are taken to insure that the flowers we distribute are as fresh as possible. Because of our truly direct dealings with people at the farms (not merely representing the farms from a remote location), we know when the flowers are cut and shipped. (Many distributors do not even know from which farms its flowers come. Flowers from a single brand name in fact often come from many different farms.) Growers ship flowers to Fall River as many as six times a week to insure a steady flow of fresh product. We go to great lengths to minimize the time between the arrival of our flowers in Miami and their departure from Miami to Fall River. Most flowers are delivered to our customers within one day of arrival in Fall River.

How cold are your flowers?

Many flowers received by retailers have not been maintained at the proper temperature. Farms often may not pre-cool flowers before shipping. In addition, flowers flown to Miami may not be re-cooled before shipment to New England. Moreover, flowers shipped by FedEx or other carriers are not refrigerated while in transit to New England and may be subject to extreme heat or cold.

Fall River Florist Supply endeavors to keep flowers in a temperature controlled environment throughout the distribution process. Other than on flights to the United States, flowers are kept in a refrigerated environment until they are delivered to the customer’s door. South American flowers are pre-cooled before flown to the United States and are again cooled before being transported to Fall River on refrigerated trucks. California product is pre-cooled before shipment.

For all of these reasons, our flowers have a quality and shelf life that is unrivaled.