Guide
Wholesale Flowers for Florists: How Buying Actually Works
Florists buy wholesale flowers from three main places: a local wholesale house, where you buy by the bunch and see the stems first; farms or importers that ship whole boxes direct; and local flower farmers in season. Most shops mix them, with a standing order for the staples, weekly top-ups for everything else, and holiday flowers booked weeks ahead.
None of it is complicated, but nobody explains it when you open a shop. This is how we buy: where each source fits, what to have ready for an account, how to read a price list, how to work out what a stem really costs you, and how to place a first holiday order without running short or binning half of it.
Where do florists buy wholesale flowers?
A local wholesale house
You walk the floor or order by phone or online, buy by the bunch, and see the flowers before you pay. Per-stem prices are usually higher than buying by the box, but there is no freight, no box minimum, and you can pick the exact shade of peach the bride asked for. For a new shop, this is where most of the buying should start.
Boxes direct from farms or importers
You order online or through a sales rep and the flowers ship in boxes, often from another country, a few days later. The per-stem price can be lower, but you buy a whole box (or a half or quarter box) of one variety, you pay freight, and you cannot see the stems first. It pays off once you know which varieties you go through every week.
Local flower farmers
Seasonal, often the freshest and most unusual stems you can get, and many growers sell to shops by the bucket or through a weekly availability list. Supply depends on the weather and the season, so treat local stems as the special part of the week rather than the base of a recipe you have to repeat every day.
Cash-and-carry and supermarkets, as a backup
Fine for a last-minute gap on a Saturday. Not a plan: the quality and the stem length vary, and you cannot book anything ahead.
What do you need to open a wholesale account?
Requirements differ by supplier and by state or country, so call and ask. Have these ready, and get answers to the rest before your first order:
- Your business license and, in most places, a resale or sales tax certificate so you can buy without paying sales tax on stock you will resell. Ask the wholesaler exactly what they need.
- The order cut-off times and delivery days. Knowing that Thursday orders must be in by Tuesday noon shapes your whole week.
- Minimums: per order, per delivery, or per box.
- Payment terms. Many start new shops on card or cash on delivery and offer invoice terms later, once you have a buying history.
- The credit policy for damaged or wrong product: how fast you must report it, and whether they want photos.
How to read a wholesale flower price list
Is the price per stem or per bunch?
Lists mix both. A bunch price looks cheap until you notice the bunch has 10 stems and the line above it has 25. Always convert to a per-stem price before you compare anything.
How many stems are in a bunch?
It varies by flower and by supplier, so read it off the list every time instead of assuming. Your recipes are written in stems, so this is the number that connects the price list to your prices.
What grade or stem length is it?
Roses and some other flowers are often listed by stem length in centimeters, and longer stems cost more. Buy the length the design needs. A 40 cm stem cut down to 25 cm for a low centerpiece is money left on the bench.
What does "market price" mean?
It means the price is set the week you buy, usually because supply moves a lot. Ask for a quote before you commit, especially before a holiday, and write the quoted price on your order.
How long is the price good for?
Wholesale prices change week to week. A list is a snapshot, so date every list you save and price your recipes from the most recent one.
What does a stem really cost you?
The number to compare is the landed cost per usable stem: the price, plus freight, box charges and any fees, divided by the stems you can actually sell. Here is a comparison with made-up round numbers, just to show the arithmetic.
Example: a farm box
100 stems at $0.90 is $90. Freight and box charges add $30, so $120 in total. Five stems arrive broken, which leaves 95 usable. $120 divided by 95 is about $1.26 a stem.
Example: the local wholesaler
A bunch of 25 at $35 is $1.40 a stem, no freight, and you picked every bunch by eye. If you only need 40 stems this week, two bunches cost $70, while the box costs $120 and leaves 55 stems you have to sell before they fade.
So the box is cheaper per stem only if you use it. Once you know a variety moves every week in that quantity, the box starts to win. The per-stem figure is also the number that goes into your recipe when you price an arrangement, and the free flower pricing calculator takes it from there.
Should a new flower shop have a standing order?
Yes, a small one. A standing order is a fixed order that arrives on the same day every week without you placing it. It saves time, some suppliers give standing customers priority when stock is short, and it makes your week predictable.
Keep it to the things you use every week whatever happens: your main greenery, a filler or two, and the focal flower in your best-selling design. Buy everything else week by week. Then look at it on the first of every month. If a line is going in the bin, cut it. If you are topping up the same thing every week, add it.
How to place your first holiday order, step by step
01Fix the holiday menu first
Decide the limited menu, with sizes, weeks before the holiday. You cannot order flowers for a menu you have not written.
02Write a recipe for every item
Every stem, by variety and color, for every size. This is the same recipe you price from, so the two stay in step.
03Estimate how many of each you will sell
Use last year's orders if you have them. If this is your first holiday, start from your pre-orders and a cautious guess, and plan to sell out rather than to throw stock away.
04Multiply out and add a buffer
Recipe stems times expected orders, plus a buffer for breakage and late orders. Ten percent is a reasonable starting buffer. Round up to whole bunches or boxes.
Example, with made-up numbers: you expect 60 orders of a design that uses 12 roses. That is 720 stems, plus a 10 percent buffer is 792, and rounded up to bunches of 25 it is 32 bunches, or 800 stems.
05Pre-book early and get it in writing
Holiday flowers are booked well ahead, and the best stock goes first. Ask when your supplier wants holiday orders, confirm quantities, prices and delivery day in writing, and keep the confirmation.
06Agree the substitutions in advance
Ask what they will send if your first choice is short, and say what you will not accept. Then write your holiday recipes so a different focal flower in the same color still works.
07Plan delivery a day or two before you need it
Flowers need time to be unpacked, processed, and opened. Arriving the morning you start designing leaves you no room if a box is late or the stems are tight.
The order is only half of a holiday. The other half is getting pre-orders in early enough to know your numbers, which we cover in flower shop marketing ideas that actually bring orders.
Common wholesale buying mistakes
Buying by the box too early
A box price is only cheaper if you use the whole box before it fades. Until you know your weekly volume, a bunch from the wholesale floor is often the cheaper stem.
Comparing prices without freight
Freight, box charges, and fuel surcharges belong in the per-stem cost. Leave them out and the farm box always looks like the bargain.
Not checking the order on arrival
Count it, check it, and report problems the same day. Most credit policies have a short window, and a claim made next week is usually a claim refused.
A standing order that never changes
If the same bunches arrive in January as in June, something on the order is being wasted. Review it every month and every season.
One supplier for everything
If they are short on the week that matters, you have nowhere to go. Keep a second account open and order from it now and then so they know you.
A wholesale buying checklist
- At least two supplier accounts open, and both used now and then.
- Cut-off times, delivery days and the credit policy written down for each.
- Every price compared per usable stem, freight included.
- A small standing order, reviewed on the first of every month.
- Every delivery counted and checked the day it arrives.
- Holiday menu, recipes and quantities fixed before you pre-book.
- Substitutions agreed in writing before the holiday, not on the day.
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Transform my first photoQuick answers
Where do florists buy wholesale flowers?+
Most florists buy from a local wholesale house, from farms or importers that ship boxes direct, and from local flower farmers in season. Many shops use all three: the wholesaler for flexibility, boxes for the varieties they use every week, and local growers for seasonal stems.
Do I need a business license to buy wholesale flowers?+
Usually, yes. Most wholesalers ask for a business license and a resale or sales tax certificate before they open a trade account. Requirements vary by supplier and by place, so ask each wholesaler what they need.
Is buying flowers direct from farms cheaper?+
Sometimes, per stem, but only once freight is included and you use the whole box. Work out the landed cost per usable stem (price plus freight and fees, divided by the stems you can actually sell) and compare that with the local per-stem price.
What should a new flower shop put on a standing order?+
Put the things you use every week no matter what: your main greenery, a filler or two, and the one or two focal flowers in your best sellers. Keep the rest flexible, and review the order every month.
How far ahead should I order flowers for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day?+
Weeks ahead, not days. Ask your suppliers when they take holiday pre-orders and book as early as they allow, because the best stock is allocated first. Confirm quantities, prices and delivery day in writing.
What do I do if a wholesale order arrives damaged?+
Report it the same day, inside your supplier's credit window. Photograph the damaged stems and the box label, note the quantities, and ask how they want the claim made. Do not process or use the stems you are claiming for.
Written by the BloomShot team. Built by a working florist.