With country music playing in the background, employees at Lele’s Flowers By Selena Hull sift through multiple boxes of flowers and delicately cut each stem.
Hull said her Houston floral shop is getting more than 5,000 stems this year for Valentine’s Day, which is Friday. Her team, which includes family and friends, is inspecting each one.
“We have to process, and we have to take off all of the greens and we have to put them in buckets,” Hull said. “We have to hydrate them and put them in coolers. It takes a lot of time.”
Gabrielle Dawkins/Houston Public Media
According to the National Retail Federation, consumers across the U.S. are expected to spend a record $27.5 billion on Valentine’s Day this year.
Houston shops such as Lele’s Flowers are preparing for the high demand. Hull said roses, particularly red roses, figure to be especially popular.
“Most men just want classic red roses,” she said. “You can show him something different and say your wife is going to love this. They’re like, ‘No, we want red roses.’ “