FAQ’s

Meaning of Rose Color

Meanings of Flowers

Month Flowers

Birth Stones

Wedding Anniversary Symbols

Flower Care and Handling

Plant Care Tips

How Do Wire Services Work

Where Do Flowers Come From

Why We Don’t Pick Wild Flowers

Where Do Cosentino’s Flowers Come From

Our Flower Dictionary (From our Wedding Section)

State Flowers

 

 

1)      Meanings of Rose colors: 

We are often asked what the various rose colors mean, especially in regard to love/hate relationships.

 

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2)      What do various flowers mean in the Language of  Flowers. 

Used for more than a century, the book written by Kate Greenfield in the 1890’s is sort of a bible for this.  Based on the meanings of Victorian Times, Greenfield listed more than a hundred flowers in her book.  We give the most used ones.

 

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3) Flowers Of The Month

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4) Birthstones of the month

 

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5) Wedding Anniversary Symbols

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6)     How do I get my Flowers to last longer.

A little extra care can make a big difference for any size flower arrangement or fresh flower bouquet.

Most floral arrangements last 4-7 days or longer, depending on the flowers used and the care they receive. The Society of American Florists provides these tips for longer-lasting, more vibrant flowers:

For floral arrangements:

For loose bunches or boxed flowers:

 

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Plant Care Tips: Green Thumb Not Required

Not only are green and flowering plants a great enhancement to any home or office decor, they are also beneficial to your health. The results of a study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) show that common houseplants are powerful, natural air cleaners.  That’s all the more reason why you want to keep your plants healthy with the proper care.

Most plants come with care instructions specified for the type of plant. The Society of American Florists provides these additional general guidelines to keep most green houseplants thriving:

Keep plants in medium-light locations - out of direct sunlight
Natural light is best, but some plants can also thrive in office fluorescent light. Most flowering potted plants should be placed in areas with the most light in order to maintain good flower color and promote the maximum number of flowers to open. Foliage plants will do well under lower light levels and can be placed in areas providing reduced light.

Plant soil should be kept moist at all times
Plants should not be allowed to dry out or wilt. Be careful to avoid overwatering - do not allow plants to stand in water. Avoid wetting plant leaves.

Avoid excessive heat or cold
Plants should be kept in a cool spot (between 65 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit) for best performance. They should be kept away from direct sunlight, heating or cooling vents, directly under ceiling fans, or on top of televisions or radiators. (Appliances like televisions give off heat, which causes plants to dehydrate.)

 

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8)     How does a wire service work?

Wire services have been a part of the American way of life since about 1917, when a group of florists in western New York State met to find a way to be able to exchange inter-city orders while being assured of payment and quality of flowers delivered.  Thus was FTD born.

Today FTD and Teleflora are leaders in this business.  Florists join one or both of these organizations and can be assured that their orders will be properly handled. Thanks, of course, to regular inspections of shops and books by teams of representatives.  In essence, when you order something for out of town from Cosentino’s we call it in to a florist in that distant city. He fills the order, based on his own pricing.   At the end of the month everyone reports to the service all the orders that were filled by his shop, during the month and, thanks to a wonderful computer system that figures discounts and rebates and various charges, every florist gets either a check or a bill.

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9)     Where Flowers Come From
Imports account for approximately 70% of fresh cut flowers sold in the United States. Today, at Cosentino’s, you may find flowers and greens from around the world.  Communications, computers and transportation have made this possible.

a)     South America.  Since the mid-1970’s, when a group of Colombians built their first greenhouses, more and more of our flowers come from that part of the world. Today we import nearly 2 million carnations - - every day  - - from Colombia.  Nearly a million roses come every day from Ecuador.  The main production in South America is in lilies, carnations, roses, daisy mums and alstroemeria.  Why?  Land values are cheaper.  An acre near Bogota sells for about $3000.  Recently one of our suppliers in California knocked down his greenhouses and sold the land for $450,000 and acre.  The climate is better and there are 12 hours of sun and 12 hours of night, year round.  Labor tends to be somewhat less expensive and there is plenty of it.  Just a few of the reasons. 

b)     Canada.  Wow, Canada is north of us and they ship flowers to us?  Why?  Basically, on the Niagara peninsula, at the western end of Lake Ontario there is an area, probably 5 miles wide and 25 miles long, that has moderate temperatures and a very high light situation that is very conducive to growing.  Add to that the fact that after WW 2, many Dutch families immigrated to this area and followed their family tradition of greenhouse growing and you have a very productive area.  An area in western Canada, the Vancouver area, offers very much the same situation.

c)      Around the world.  Typically, many of our orchids arrive from Singapore and Malaysia.  We get delphinium and liatris that have been grown in Zimbabwe, in Central Africa.  Some of our foliage comes from Mexico and certainly Anthurium and Birds of Paradise are from Hawaii.  Costa Rica has recently entered the realm of producing flowers for shipment around the world.  Now add to that mix, carnations from San Remo, Italy, exotic wild flowers from Australia and mini carnations from Israel and you begin to realize why there are so many choices throughout the year.

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10) Why don’t we just send staff out and pick wild flowers?  Wouldn’t we be able to lower our prices?

a)     Yes, we do sell Golden Rod and daisies that you could simply go out and pick.  But, two factors prevent it; the cost of sending an employee out in the van for a trip to the countryside and the time to pick the flowers are primary.  It is cheaper to buy them. Those products we bring in to the store from the market are free of insects.  They have been greenhouse grown.  Some folks might object to insects that might come along with those flowers picked out in the countryside.

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11) Where does Cosentino’s get their flowers? 

a)     Fortunately Cosentino’s is a large enough florist that we do not need to depend solely on local wholesalers.  Don’t get us wrong, local wholesalers (Syracuse and Rochester) provide us an important service.  But, by “buying direct” we are able to get flowers faster and keep our prices low.  We DO use local wholesalers for about half of our flowers.  But, we also buy from a shipper in Miami, who air ships to us, from a company in California that FED Ex’s and from a company in Canada that delivers really fresh product to our door 3 times every week.  For special needs we might call a friend at the New York Flower market or get it shipped in from a contact in Amsterdam, Holland.  The world is our marketplace.  It is all these contacts that allow us to have more and different product for you all the time and to meet your special needs.  And, thanks to you, our customer, we sell enough flowers every day to make all of this work.

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12) What are the State Flowers

 

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