Numerology: The Business of Roses

By: Kate RockwoodWed Jan 14, 2009 at 5:15 PM

Know what's a blooming big business? Roses! And while you may not love Valentine's Day, flower people do -- it's the busiest day of their year. Here's a look at this fragrant industry, with an assist from Douglas Brenner and Stephen Scanniello's new book, "A Rose by Any Name."

Infographic: Numerology: The Business of Roses

An English breeder spent about $5.5 million and 14 years to cultivate the apricot-colored Juliet,the most expensive ever to be privately developed.

On Valentine's Day 2008, 214 million roses were sold in the U.S. That year, 59% were red. Around Valentine's Day rose prices typically spike 42%.

A new rose name may have a maximum of 10 syllables and 30 letters, a rule set by the International Cultivar Registration Authority to curb names like Souvenir de la Princesse Alexis Swiatopolk-Czetwertinski.

After 18 years of research, the Japanese firm Suntory did something that had long been thought impossible. It created blue roses, inserting a pansy gene into the mauve Cardinal de Richelieu.

The potential market for blue roses, which will hit flower shops this year, is estimated at $303.5 million annually.

There are more than 15,000 different rose species & cultivars (cultivated varieties) worldwide.

In 1979, only 7% of all cut roses sold in the U.S. were imported. Today, more than 90% are. Two-thirds of those 1.5 billion-plus foreign-born stems come from Colombia.

The rose is the state flower of four states: Iowa, North Dakota, New York, and Georgia.

In 1898, a single rose went for $3.75 at New York florists. Adjusted for inflation, that's about $93.

The average price of a dozen long-stemmed red roses last year: $80.

To select the cultivar that would bear her name, Barbra Streisand auditioned three hybrid teas for two years in her garden, which has 1,200 roses. "Barbra Streisand" is a lavender hybrid tea with a pink blush.

Topics:

Work/Life, Douglas Brenner, Valentine's Day, roses, Stephen Scanniello, Culture and Lifestyle, Hobbies and Pastimes, House and Home, Gardening, Flowers

From Issue 132 | February 2009

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Numerology: The Business of Roses

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