“We have holiday help,” he said, nothing the addition of an extra flower designer — bringing the total to five — and 10 additional delivery drivers.
“They’ll be here Friday morning as early as 6:30 in the morning,” Connor said.
Valentine’s Day is consistently the shop’s busiest holiday in its over 50 years of business, with Mother’s Day following close behind. This year, Connor said tariffs increased flower costs. The business sources its flowers from Ecuador, Canada and Mexico.
“The flowers are more expensive this year than ever before,” he said. A dozen red roses that sold for $85 last year sold for $100 this year. Connor hopes to sell about 400 dozen.
“Roses, they never, ever go out of style,” he said. “They are the international language of love symbol.”
He added the shop will stop taking orders once they run out of flowers.
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Credit: Bryn Dippold
At Max Stacy Flowers, 350 High St. in Hamilton, manager Lisa Johnson described Valentine’s week as “steady.”
“It’s been good … it’s always busier toward the end (of the week),” said Johnson, who has worked at the shop for 20 years.
She said recent inclement weather didn’t disrupt shipments, but the volume of orders has been high. Like other florists, Valentine’s Day is the shop’s busiest period along with Mother’s Day.
“Most people ordered months, maybe six weeks ago,” she said. “Otherwise, you might have a problem.”
The biggest sales days come right before the holiday, Johnson said.
To prepare, the shop completes about 40 of its own arrangements plus 24 red‑rose arrangements in advance. She wasn’t sure of the total number of orders this year.
“We’re just trying to get them done,” she said. “It’s a job, it’s hard. People think it’s fun. That’s the biggest misconception ... it is (fun) but it’s almost like working in your garden all day.”
Max Stacy Flowers employs three staff members and one driver, and brings in additional help for deliveries during the holiday period. Their price for a dozen roses also increased this year, from $90 to $100, though Johnson said the price wasn’t affected by tariffs. The shop buys wholesale from two to three suppliers in Cincinnati and Dayton.
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