"" Writer's Wanderings: Traveling Roses

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Traveling Roses

Last week I treated myself to a bouquet of roses. Having been a florist (in another life) I was taught to gently squeeze the rose heads in a bunch to see if they were soft. It's kind of like thumping a watermelon or squeezing the tomatoes. If the head is too soft the roses will not last long. If the head is too tight and especially if it looks like a Hershey kiss, it will likely never open and will just eventually droop. This seemed just right and were on sale and were a wonderful variegated color. But how long would they last, I wondered? After all roses travel a long ways to get to the stores in the US.

About 90% of all roses come from Columbia and Ecuador. They are grown in acres and acres of greenhouses and often harvested two to three weeks before a major holiday. They are dry packed in coolers and eventually shipped off by plane most likely to Miami where large warehouses then separate the boxes of roses for the rest of their journey to destinations throughout the states.

In the early days when roses were grown more locally they always smelled so wonderful. The roses today hardly have a smell at all. That is due to their being bred to be long lasting and the preservatives added to them so they will last for their journey and still have life left to be enjoyed in your home.

When we visited Quito, Ecuador, the hotel was filled with huge bouquets of roses. They were beautiful. Amazing. My bouquet has been amazing as well. The roses opened quickly and have a ruffled look to the petals. It was a successful impulse buy. I have thoroughly enjoyed them and I appreciate how far they had to travel to give me the pleasure of their company.



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