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How to order flowers online for Valentine’s Day
Urban Stems/Lula’s Garden/The Million Roses
The countdown to Valentine’s Day 2024 has begun. It’s time to start that Valentine’s Day flower order for your wife, partner, mom, sister or loved one. Though the holiday is still more than two weeks away, fresh flower delivery spots can fill up quick, and the best bouquets may be unavailable if you wait until the last minute.
This year, ordering flowers online has never been easier thanks to big-box retailers like Amazon (yes, Amazon!) that deliver stylish flowers straight to her home. And there are specialty online flower sites that offer beautiful, high-quality arrangements you won’t be able to find locally. Here’s our roundup of the top flower delivery options in 2024.
Best online flower stores for Valentine’s Day 2024
With stylish offerings that elevate your flower order past roses, hydrangeas and daisies, we’re making it easy to dazzle her with flowers this Valentine’s Day.
Best overall online flower delivery service: The Bouqs Co.
The Bouqs
As seen on ABC’s competition reality show “Shark Tank”, The Bouqs Co. promises farm-fresh quality flowers guaranteed to stay fresher longer. Their flowers are responsibly sourced and rooted in kindness — to the planet and to the brand’s partners. Because flowers are sourced directly from the farms in which they grow, there is no middleman. Flowers are in transit for less time, which means they’ll stay in bloom longer before wilting.
The Bouqs promises stylish, modern arrangements with a variety of elegant vase and accompanying gift options. The Bouqs Co. suggests ordering your Valentine’s Day flowers early to guarantee they arrive on time.
What you need to know about The Bouqs Co.:
- Flowers arrive in bud form, so they blossom before her eyes.
- The Bouqs Co. offers free shipping to subscribers. A subscription costs $49.
- A $15 flower delivery charge will apply to most delivery orders for non-subscribers, though delivery charges can vary.
Best flower quality and selection online: UrbanStems
Urban Stems
When it comes to buying flowers online, we like the quality, variety of offerings, freshness and style of UrbanStems. UrbanStems guarantees same-day or next-day delivery to New York City, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Miami. The online flower retailer does offer coast-to-coast delivery to other cities, but can’t guarantee same-day or next-day delivery.
The real star of the show here are the modern arrangements, with extensive offerings and unique designs you won’t find elsewhere. UrbanStems is a terrific choice if you’re looking for a modern and elevated arrangement, or are looking for arrangements with elegant flowers other than roses.
- Order at least 48 hours before your desired delivery date. Delivery costs $10-30 per order.
What you need to know about UrbanStems:
- The brand has a freshness guarantee: If flowers don’t meet expectations, UrbanStems will make it right.
- Flowers can be hand delivered within parts of Manhattan, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. (Flowers that are not hand delivered will be packaged, shipped and delivered using a reputable shipper.)
Best eternal Valentine’s Day flowers: The Million Roses
The Million Roses
Elevate Valentine’s Day roses from a temporary gift to one that becomes a statement gift for months and years to come.
Starting as low as $69, The Million Roses creates elegant gift boxes filled with long-lasting roses. The Million Roses flowers go through a special treatment process which allows them to keep their fresh cut appearance for up to three years. The stylish box comes in suede, metallic or other options.
We love the single long-lasting rose in a limited-edition love note box. It’s a clever gift that won’t break the bank.
What you need to know about The Million Roses:
- The brand’s long-lasting roses can be kept for up to three years.
- The Million Roses offer free Valentine’s Day delivery, but order now — delivery slots will fill up.
- These roses require no water, sunlight or special attention.
Best way to save on flower delivery fees: Amazon
Amazon
Amazon really does have it all, including terrific flower arrangements for Valentine’s Day 2024. From gorgeous fresh arrangements delivered in accompanying stylish vases to long-lasting roses arriving in a stylish gift box, it’s possible to meet all your Valentine’s Day flower needs this year by ordering flowers through Amazon.
Why you need to know about ordering flowers on Amazon:
- Get free delivery with your Amazon Prime membership.
- Amazon offers terrific preserved flowers and gift options, but for fresh cut flower arrangements, we suggest ordering through a site like Urban Stems.
Best flower alternative: Valentine’s Day succulent from Lula’s Garden
Lula’s Garden
If you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day gift that’s a bit out of the ordinary, consider a Lula’s Garden Valentine’s Day succulent. It makes a great gift for relatives or besties. It also makes a thoughtful choice if your valentine is allergic to flowers.
- Lula’s Garden offers hand delivery in Los Angeles.
- Standard shipping is 2-3 business days while supplies last.
When is Valentine’s Day 2024?
This year, Valentine’s Day falls on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.
What are the most popular flowers on Valentine’s Day?
Americans spent about $26 billion on Valentine’s Day last year with roses being the most popular flower. Last year, the average consumer spent $192.80 on Valentine’s Day with spending including flowers, gifts, date night or an at-home celebration. And while flowers are a hands-down Valentine’s Day favorite, cards and candy are big winners as well.
When is the last day to order flowers for Valentine’s Day?
Mega online flower retailers such as 1-800-FLOWERS offer same-day Valentine’s Day ordering, but you’ll pay an extra delivery charge. Many local flower shops and online flower retailers will deliver your Valentine’s Day order anytime between Feb. 13 and Feb. 15, unless you specifically request a Feb. 14 delivery.
Each flower retailer has different Valentine’s Day delivery deadlines, but in general, the smaller the flower shop, the less flexibility they’ll have to accommodate last-minute orders. Even larger online flower retailers will see delivery spots fill up quick. We suggest placing your Valentine’s Day flower order a week in advance to guarantee you’re not shut out of flower delivery on Valentine’s Day this year.
Can I send flowers before Valentine’s Day?
We think the best day to have your Valentine’s Day flowers delivered is on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. You’ll pay less in delivery charges and will be more likely to get on the flower delivery calendar, even if you’re ordering closer to the deadline. And with winter weather throwing wrenches into everything from NFL games to morning commutes, asking for a Feb. 13 delivery gives your gift extra time to arrive by Valentine’s Day if shipping delays occur.
How to save money on Valentine’s Day flower delivery
The easiest way to save money on Valentine’s Day flower delivery this year is to order your arrangement early. That way, you avoid last-minute surcharges, shipping surcharges or paying higher prices because options are limited. You can also save money by choosing a delivery date other than Feb. 14.
Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s top official for freeing Americans held overseas, on Friday arrived in Damascus, Syria, for a high-risk mission: making the first known face-to-face contact with the caretaker government and asking for help finding missing American journalist Austin Tice.
Tice was kidnapped in Syria 12 years ago during the civil war and brutal reign of now-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. For years, U.S. officials have said they do not know with certainty whether Tice is still alive, where he is being held or by whom.
The State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, accompanied Carstens to Damascus as a gesture of broader outreach to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, the rebel group that recently overthrew Assad’s regime and is emerging as a leading power.
Near East Senior Adviser Daniel Rubinstein was also with the delegation. They are the first American diplomats to visit Damascus in over a decade, according to a State Department spokesperson.
They plan to meet with HTS representatives to discuss transition principles endorsed by the U.S. and regional partners in Aqaba, Jordan, the spokesperson said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Aqaba last week to meet with Middle East leaders and discuss the situation in Syria.
While finding and freeing Tice and other American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime is the ultimate goal, U.S. officials are downplaying expectations of a breakthrough on this trip. Multiple sources told CBS News that Carstens and Leaf’s intent is to convey U.S. interests to senior HTS leaders, and learn anything they can about Tice.
Rubinstein will lead the U.S. diplomacy in Syria, engaging directly with the Syrian people and key parties in Syria, the State Department spokesperson added.
Diplomatic outreach to HTS comes in a volatile, war-torn region at an uncertain moment. Two sources even compared the potential danger to the expeditionary diplomacy practiced by the late U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who led outreach to rebels in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 and was killed in a terrorist attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound and intelligence post.
U.S. special operations forces known as JSOC provided security for the delegation as they traveled by vehicle across the Jordanian border and on the road to Damascus. The convoy was given assurances by HTS that it would be granted safe passage while in Syria, but there remains a threat of attacks by other terrorist groups, including ISIS.
CBS News withheld publication of this story for security concerns at the State Department’s request.
Sending high-level American diplomats to Damascus represents a significant step in reopening U.S.-Syria relations following the fall of the Assad regime less than two weeks ago. Operations at the U.S. embassy in Damascus have been suspended since 2012, shortly after the Assad regime brutally repressed an uprising that became a 14-year civil war and spawned 13 million Syrians to flee the country in one of the largest humanitarian disasters in the world.
The U.S. formally designated HTS, which had ties to al Qaeda, as a foreign terrorist organization in 2018. Its leader, Mohammed al Jolani, was designated as a terrorist by the US in 2013 and prior to that served time in a US prison in Iraq.
Since toppling Assad, HTS has publicly signaled interest in a new more moderate trajectory. Al Jolani even shed his nom de guerre and now uses his legal name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
U.S. sanctions on HTS linked to those terrorist designations complicate outreach somewhat, but they haven’t prevented American officials from making direct contact with HTS at the direction of President Biden. Blinken recently confirmed that U.S. officials were in touch with HTS representatives prior to Carstens and Leaf’s visit.
“We’ve heard positive statements coming from Mr. Jolani, the leader of HTS,” Blinken told Bloomberg News on Thursday. “But what everyone is focused on is what’s actually happening on the ground, what are they doing? Are they working to build a transition in Syria that brings everyone in?”
In that same interview, Blinken also seemed to dangle the possibility that the U.S. could help lift sanctions on HTS and its leader imposed by the United Nations, if HTS builds what he called an inclusive nonsectarian government and eventually holds elections. The Biden administration is not expected to lift the U.S. terrorist designation before the end of the president’s term on January 20th.
Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder disclosed Thursday that the U.S. currently has approximately 2,000 US troops inside of Syria as part of the mission to defeat ISIS, a far higher number than the 900 troops the Biden administration had previously acknowledged. There are at least five U.S. military bases in the north and south of the country.
The Biden administration is concerned that thousands of ISIS prisoners held at a camp known as al-Hol could be freed. It is currently guarded by the Syrian Democratic forces, Kurdish allies of the U.S. who are wary of the newly-powerful HTS. The situation on the ground is rapidly changing since Russia and Iran withdrew military support from the Assad regime, which has reset the balance of power. Turkey, which has been a sometimes problematic U.S. ally, has been a conduit to HTS and is emerging as a power broker.
A high-risk mission like this is unusual for the typically risk averse Biden administration, which has exercised consistently restrained diplomacy. Blinken approved Carstens and Leaf’s trip and relevant congressional leaders were briefed on it days ago.
“I think it’s important to have direct communication, it’s important to speak as clearly as possible, to listen, to make sure that we understand as best we can where they’re going and where they want to go,” Blinken said Thursday.
At a news conference in Moscow Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had not yet met with Assad, who fled to Russia when his regime fell earlier this month. Putin added that he would ask Assad about Austin Tice when they do meet.
Tice, a Marine Corps veteran, worked for multiple news organizations including CBS News.
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