FLIMBY: Let’s talk Valentine’s Day roses

This is an installment in our new weekly series, Flowers in My Back Yard, devoted to everything that blooms.

Valentine’s Day is not only a date to celebrate romance but a good time to talk roses.

More than 250 million long-stem roses were produced for this Valentine’s Day, says the Society of American Florists. Those bouquets represent the bulk of an estimated $3.1 billion that Americans will spend on Valentine flowers this week, says the National Retail Federation. That’s up nearly 20% in just three years.

Due to tariffs and other inflationary pressures, prices on imported roses went up more than 7% in 2025 alone and continue to climb. This Valentine’s Day, florist-quality long-stem roses are expected to cost $65 to $100 per dozen, say industry estimates. Even “budget” roses at supermarkets, Costco and other outlets will sell for $25 to $50 a dozen (with no vase or professional touches).

At those prices, you may want to consider giving a whole rose bush instead of a bouquet. Although the bush won’t yet be in bloom for Valentine’s Day, it will be flowering soon – and for months and years to come.

With proper care (and we’ll be covering that more in this weekly series), roses can thrive in almost any Sacramento garden. Once established (a.k.a. given a chance to put down deep roots), roses need only weekly irrigation.

New varieties are disease-resistant and adaptable to a wide range of landscape needs, including container gardening. The one thing they demand: Some sun. To flower consistently, roses need about six hours of daily sun -- preferably in the morning.

And February is when nurseries and mail-order companies have the best selection of both new roses and older varieties. The hardest part? Deciding which rose to buy. More than 30,000 named varieties have been introduced.

Roses are by far the most popular gift flower-year round, and their demand continues to grow. In 1989, Americans bought an estimated 1 billion roses over the course of the entire year (with Valentine’s Day being the peak period for rose sales). In 2023, U.S. rose sales hit 2.8 billion stems – enough for every adult American to get one 10-rose bouquet (plus a lot left over).

Why roses? According to florists, roses carry a lot of extra meaning, especially as a symbol of love.

That emotion has many shades, with different rose colors evoking various meanings. According to online florist BloomsyBox, roses hint at these qualities:

* White roses: Innocence and purity.

* Pink roses: Romance and happiness.

* Coral roses: Desire.

* Yellow roses: Love between friends.

* Peach roses: Modesty and appreciation.

* Lavender roses: Love at first sight.

* Red roses: Passionate love.

Most of those meanings were well known to Victorians, who used flowers to send coded messages.

In 1884, Kate Greenaway, a wildly popular illustrator of Victorian children’s books, created her illustrated “Language of Flowers” with hundreds of referenced blooms. Greenaway included 34 meanings just for roses (including those above), depending on their variety, color and form.

As for “love,” there are dozens of possible bouquet candidates (including fillers as well as flowers), depending on the intensity of that affection. Among them: Yellow acacia (“secret love”), ambrosia (“love returned”), red mum (“I love you”), yellow mum (“slighted love”), purple lilac (“first emotions of love”), lotus (“estranged love”), magnolia (“love of nature”), moss (“maternal love”), pear blossoms (“affection”) and pink carnations (“a woman’s love”).

As for adding a little rose love to your garden, February is a wonderful time to plant new bushes. The names of more than 15 varieties start with the word “Love,” “Love’s” or “Loving.” That includes the red grandiflora "Love" as well as the hybrid teas "Love and Peace," "Love at First Sight," "Love Me Tender" and "Loving Memory."

Or cover all the bases with another aptly named rose: "You’re My Everything." Introduced by Weeks Roses, this hybrid tea is a yellow and pink blend with intense fruity fragrance – and a lot of honors. It was named “2025 Rose of the Year” by the Royal Horticulture Society and 2025 Shrub of the Year at the Horticultural Trades Association’s National Plant Show.