The 8 best online flower delivery services we tested in 2022
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Whether it be a holiday, a milestone, sympathy, or just because, sending fresh flowers is a thoughtful way to let someone know you're thinking of them. And it's easier than ever: there are now dozens of online merchants out there, with a wide array of options — fresh bouquets, live plants, dried or preserved arrangements, subscriptions, and more — all at varying price points.
While our staff has used nearly every one of these services to send loved ones bouquets over the years, we wanted to know exactly how they stack up against one another. To find the best flower delivery service, we ordered 39 arrangements from 16 popular brands, sending the flowers to Insider Reviews team members all over the country. Our goal was to find a service that delivers the freshest, most attractive flowers that arrive on time no matter your location.
You can read more about our methodology, and find out more about what services didn't make the cut here.
Here are the best online flower delivery services in 2022
Best flower delivery service overall: UrbanStems
UrbanStems makes some of the most stunning bouquets we've found and offers something for everyone, with a diverse selection of fresh flowers, dried flowers, plants, gifts, and subscriptions.
Best flower delivery service for farm-fresh flowers: Farmgirl Flowers
Farmgirl Flowers offers unique and playful arrangements that change with what's in season and with many blooms sourced from California farmers.
Best flower delivery service for custom arrangements: Floracracy
Floracracy's custom arrangements are a unique way to mark life's meaningful moments and make gifting flowers feel incredibly personal and special.
Best flower delivery service for same-day delivery: FTD
FTD offers hundreds of bouquets, gifts, and plants for delivery in all 50 states and 150 counties, with many options for same-day arrival.
Best flower delivery subscription: BloomsyBox
BloomsyBox offers a la carte bouquets and plants, but its wide variety of subscription plans are where the service really shines.
Best flower delivery service for preserved roses: RoseBox
Preserved roses are incredibly popular and can last more than a year with proper care. We love Rosebox for preserved roses because of its robust selection of arrangements, vases, and colors.
Best flower delivery service for fresh roses: Roses Only
As the name implies, Roses Only sells just one product but it does it remarkably well, delivering some of the most pristine, stunning, long-stemmed roses we've ever seen.
Best flower delivery service for dried bouquets: East Olivia
Fresh flowers have a short lifespan but dried florals from East Olivia can last for years with proper care and feature inventive colors and textures not found in traditional fresh bouquets.
Lauren Savoie/Maria Del Russo/Rachael Shultz/Insider
UrbanStems makes some of the most stunning bouquets we've found and offers something for everyone, with a diverse selection of fresh flowers, dried flowers, plants, gifts, and subscriptions.
Shop all flowers on UrbanStems
Pros: Lots of options to choose from, including dried bouquets and plants; attractive floral designs in a range of styles, sizes, and prices
Cons: Some testers noted flowers lasted a few days less than other brands
UrbanStems offers a robust selection of modern, fresh bouquets, along with dried flowers, plants, candles, chocolate, and subscriptions. It's a great one-stop shop to find something that feels unique to your recipient.
We tried the Juliet, Luna, and Double the Pink Champagne fresh bouquets, along with the Aspen dried bouquet and Claude plant. Everything arrived on time and in excellent condition. The arrangements were some of the freshest, most attractive bouquets we tested and were filled with lively, creative blooms in a range of colors.
The bouquets lasted a little over a week — average for fresh-cut flowers — and the dried bouquet and plant are still going strong. The site is also very easy to navigate and lets you filter by occasion, color, price, and more.
Read our full review of UrbanStems.
Worth a look:
Lauren Savoie/Connie Chen/Insider
Farmgirl Flowers offers unique and playful arrangements that change with what's in season and with many blooms sourced from California farmers.
Shop all bouquets from Farmgirl Flowers
Pros: Whimsical, in-season blooms; each bouquet is unique; moderately priced; offers some rare flowers; some florals are grown in the US
Cons: Surprise bouquets are not ideal if you have specific flowers you want to include or avoid; some customers report wilting or short-lived blooms
If you're after an arrangement that looks like it was recently plucked from the garden, Farmgirl Flowers offers inventive and playful bouquets based on what's in season. Farmgirl's flagship offerings are the Fun Size, Just Right, and Big Love bouquets (formerly Mini, Midi, and Maxi). You don't get to choose what you receive; instead, Farmgirl puts together a bouquet based on what's available and in season. The company's website and social media give you an idea of what to expect, but every bouquet is slightly different, giving it a special, unique feel.
I received a Just Right and a Big Love, as well as another Just Right sent to a tester in California. I love that the arrangements had a whimsical, wild shape to them, and they were gorgeous from every angle. The Just Right and Big Love both appeared the same size when I first received them, but after a few hours in water, the Big Love's closed buds opened up to create a fuller bouquet.
If you want your bouquet to include (or avoid) certain flowers, Farmgirl also offers a few dozen specialty bouquets, including some rare blooms like flower breeder David Austin's Juliet and Patience roses.
Worth a look:
Lauren Savoie/Connie Chen/Insider
Floracracy's custom arrangements are a unique way to mark life's meaningful moments and make gifting flowers feel incredibly personal and special.
Shop all flowers on Floracracy
Pros: Completely customizable arrangements, online tool helps you choose the right arrangement, beautiful presentation and packaging, thoughtful extras like a petal pressing book and mini shears, letter writing service
Cons: Online tool can be a bit tricky to navigate, lots of packaging (though most options are compostable or recyclable), few budget options
If you really want to wow your giftee with something special, a custom arrangement from Floracracy is perhaps the most personal flower gift you can buy. Every aspect of the design can be customized, from the shape and the colors to the blooms. If you're not sure where to start, the company's design tool walks you through a quiz that lets you select the intended recipient, occasion, and meaning you wish to convey, and then makes a recommendation for you. Each flower is paired with a meaning from the company's thorough research of historical flower symbolism. You're also given the option to write a letter yourself or have the company write one for you based on the information you provide.
The arrangements we received from Floracracy were the lushest and most vibrant we've ever seen from a flower delivery service. Each arrangement comes with a coordinating vase, a handbound book for pressing petals, and an illustrated card with each of the flowers and their meaning. Our blooms lasted almost three weeks; longer than any other arrangement. While this service is pricier and requires some of your time to design, it makes for a truly meaningful and memorable flower gift.
Read our full review of Floracracy here.
Worth a look:
Lauren Savoie/Jenny McGrath/Insider
FTD offers hundreds of bouquets, gifts, and plants for delivery in all 50 states and 150 counties, with many options for same-day arrival.
Shop all flowers from FTD
Pros: Orders filled by local florists; a large selection of bouquets, plants, and gifts
Cons: Experience can vary based on which florist fills your order, designs are more traditional and less modern
When you need to send flowers fast, a floral wire service is your best option. Florists' Transworld Delivery Service (FTD) has been in the flower delivery business for more than 100 years and partners with local florists to fulfill and deliver orders in all 50 states and more than 150 countries. In many cases, you'll also have the option of same-day delivery. The arrangements lean toward more traditional colors and flowers, instead of more modern or unique designs.
Compared to other similar floral wire services, both my testers and I had a better experience with FTD. The bouquets and plants we received were fuller, fresher, and in better condition than blooms from 1-800-Flowers. Of course, since orders are typically filled by local florists, your experience may vary depending on who ultimately fills your order.
If you need to send flowers quickly, internationally, or to hard-to-reach places, FTD is the best same-day service we've found.
Worth a look:
Lauren Savoie/Insider
BloomsyBox offers a la carte bouquets and plants, but its wide variety of subscription plans are where the service really shines.
Shop all flower subscriptions on BloomsyBox
Pros: Multiple weekly and monthly plans to choose from, offers month-to-month and prepaid plans, bouquets are gorgeous, a la carte bouquets and plants available
Cons: Don't get to choose which flowers are in your bouquet, which might not be a good option for those with allergies or pets
Flower subscriptions are a great way to brighten someone's day on a more frequent basis — or to liven up your own home with regularly-scheduled blooms. BloomsyBox offers a robust fleet of weekly and monthly subscription options at reasonable prices. You can pay month-to-month or save a few dollars by prepaying for 3-, 6-, or 12-month subscriptions. While the retailer also sells a la carte bouquets and plants, we think its subscriptions offer the best value.
I tried BloomsyBox's priciest subscription: its NYBG Collection. Each bouquet in the subscription is curated by the New York Botanical Garden's floral experts and features blooms that are in season. A portion of the subscription goes to supporting the NYBG's plant science and conservation efforts.
I'm two bouquets into my 3-month subscription and so far, everything has been stunning. It's a nice treat each month when I get an e-mail in my inbox saying my bouquet is on the way. April's bouquet featured white and purple lilies with a bunch of lush greenery, while March's selection was a springy mix of pink roses and purple veronica. I highly recommend BloomsyBox's subscriptions to anyone looking for a bit of floral cheer on a regular basis.
Worth a look:
Lauren Savoie/Maliah West/Hannah Freedman/Insider
Preserved roses are incredibly popular and can last more than a year with proper care. We love Rosebox for preserved roses because of its robust selection of arrangements, vases, and colors.
Shop all preserved flowers on RoseBox
Pros: More than 20 rose color options, many container types, smell and look like fresh roses, can last a year or longer with proper care
Cons: Don't have the same feel as real roses
If you've been on Instagram lately, chances are you've seen these trendy preserved roses somewhere on your feed. Usually packed into boxes or displayed in a classic ball arrangement, these flowers are incredibly popular with influencers and celebrities.
We tested three preserved rose brands and found the quality very similar. Ultimately, we chose RoseBox as the best preserved roses for its diverse range of color and display options. We particularly liked that its plentiful display containers had discreet branding or none at all, unlike other preserved rose brands that their cover containers (which can't be separated from the flowers) with logos.
Almost all of RoseBox's 90+ products can be customized with 21 or more different rose color options. One of our testers opted for turquoise, while others chose more classic red and pink varieties.
Preserved roses are expensive, no matter what brand you choose. A single preserved rose will cost you anywhere from $44 to $89, which is the same price as a full-sized bouquet from most of our other top picks. Expect a medium-sized array of preserved roses to cost about $300. That said, they can end up being an economical alternative to buying flowers every week. We're eager to see if our arrangements live up to their purported longevity.
Worth a look:
Lauren Savoie/Katie Decker-Jacoby/Insider
As the name implies, Roses Only sells just one product but it does it remarkably well, delivering some of the most pristine, stunning, long-stemmed roses we've ever seen.
Shop all roses on Roses Only
Pros: Stunning roses; beautiful presentation; long-lasting flowers; available in quantities from six to 100
Cons: Limited product and color choices.
Roses are such a big seller that I made sure every arrangement I received as part of this guide included at least some of them. Having seen the spectrum of what's out there, I can confidently say that Roses Only delivers the most pristine, long-lasting roses I've found.
So much care is put into the delivery: the cartoonishly perfect long-stemmed roses (which you can order in quantities of six to 100) come packaged in a long, elegant box with a linen ribbon, and every rose has its own water reservoir to ensure it arrives pristine. The roses themselves are flawless, with big velvety petals. They lasted about two weeks and gradually opened up until each bud was about the size of my palm. At about $8 per flower, Roses Only sells some of the most expensive roses out there, but if it's just fresh roses that you're after, no flower delivery service does it better.
Worth a look:
Lauren Savoie/Insider
Fresh flowers have a short lifespan but dried florals from East Olivia can last for years with proper care and feature inventive colors and textures not found in traditional fresh bouquets.
Shop all dried flowers at East Olivia
Pros: Unique and inventive designs, each arrangement comes with a coordinating vase, options change seasonally, arrangements can last a year or longer with proper care
Cons: Order processing can take up to five business days, limited edition collections can sell out quickly
No matter how pretty the bouquet, fresh flowers will all eventually wilt. Dried bouquets are a good solution for those who love the look of florals but hate the upkeep. Some of the most creative and beautiful preserved arrangements we've seen come from East Olivia.
The offerings change seasonally, but at the time of our testing, the brand featured a winter collection and Valentine's Day collection, both featuring ornamental grasses and filler flowers dyed dreamy pastel colors. We tried The Rose from the winter collection and The Harper (currently out of stock) from the Valentine's Day collection. Each bouquet comes fully arranged and delicately packaged with its own matching ceramic vase. The Rose features miscanthus, pampas grass, ruscus, helecho fern, and bunny tails in varying shades of pink, set in an ivory porcelain vase. It currently lives in my office, where it makes me smile every time I walk past it. I love knowing that I'll get many, many months of enjoyment out of it.
The fact that East Olivia's collections change with the season makes each arrangement feel special. Order processing can take up to five business days, so you'll want to plan ahead if you plan on gifting one of these dried arrangements, especially considering the limited edition collections can sell out quickly.
Worth a look:
Caitlin Petreycik/Lauren Savoie/Insider
We tested 16 brands for our guide to the best flower delivery services. Here are the ones that didn't quite make the cut.
What else we recommend and why:
- The Bouqs Co. (starting at $39): The first time we tested The Bouqs, we received lackluster results: My grand Santa Cruz'n arrangement came with half the number of promised blooms, many were wilted, and flowers were zip-tied directly to the shipping box with only a single sheet of paper laid over them for protection. The Bouqs claimed they fixed these issues, so we tried the service again recently with three more bouquets sent to three testers. The bouquets were noticeably fuller, better protected, and fresher this time around. We're upping the brand's status from "not recommended" to "recommended," but still keeping a close eye on reader reports of quality and freshness.
- Ode à la Rose (starting at $56): Ode à la Rose makes beautiful, minimalist bouquets often consisting of just one to three flower types. The bouquets we received from Ode à la Rose were breathtaking, and this service is a fantastic option if you live in New York City, Philadelphia, or Chicago where you can choose from a wider selection of arrangements and have the option of same-day delivery. However, the selection is limited, especially for nationwide delivery (only 10 bouquets were available for delivery to Boston).
- Venus Et Fleur (starting at $44): This preserved rose brand delivered fresh-smelling, attractive roses. We loved the quality of the blooms and the creative options available on the site. However, we wished there were more container options; especially those that don't have Venus Et Fleur branding so prominently displayed.
- Bouquet Box (starting at $99): Bouquet Box offers you a chance to hone your flower arranging skills with a kit of flowers and instructions for arranging them. It's pricey compared to other comparable services, but I really enjoyed the experience and the instructions. I felt like I learned a skill and got a great bouquet; plus, I still use the shears, thorn-stripper, vase, and grid from my welcome kit for my own flower arrangements.
- Pomp (starting at $75): Pomp just launched this summer and features sustainably-grown flowers from the owners' farms in Colombia. The roses are the stand-out option. We're looking forward to seeing Pomp's selection expand as the brand grows.
- Fresh Sends (starting at $55): Fresh Sends offers two products: a "regular" or "full" bouquet. You don't know what sort of arrangement you'll be receiving; the offerings change daily. While this is a great option if you struggle with decision fatigue (and the packaging was really fun), the "full" bouquet was quite small for $85.
What we don't recommend and why:
- Rosepops (starting at $32): This preserved rose brand sends its arrangements packed in lidded boxes. When it arrives, you remove the lid and pull on the box strings to "pop" the roses up above the lid of the box for presentation. The popping mechanism was unique (and nice for storage). However, our testers thought the large and prominent logos on all the containers cheapened the presentation, and the website isn't intuitive to navigate.
- 1-800-Flowers (starting at $34.99): While the selection is robust (I counted 53 bouquets available for same-day delivery in my area), the website is a bit tricky to navigate. The bouquet I received was skimpier and less impressive than others from similar services. Our Seattle-based tester noted that the orchid she ordered wasn't packed very well for shipping, and a lot of the gravel and soil in the container were spilled when it arrived.
Lauren Savoie/Insider
To find the best flower delivery service, we conducted hands-on testing of every brand in this guide. We ordered two to three arrangements from each brand, evaluating the selection, ordering, and delivery process. We sent bouquets to testers in different parts of the country — including New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, rural Colorado, and suburban Connecticut — to see if quality and delivery time varied based on location. In all, we tested 39 bouquets from 16 brands. Here's what we looked for in the best flower delivery service:
Ordering: We scrutinized the ordering process of each service, noting whether the website was simple to navigate, what the product selection was like, and how easy it was to place an order. We also looked at shipping options and estimated delivery times.
Delivery: We noted whether the arrangements arrived when they said they would (all did), evaluated packaging, and looked at the condition of the flowers when they first arrived. Testers across the country compared notes; we found delivery times and quality consistent across the country.
Quality of flowers: We looked for full bouquets of lively-looking flowers that matched the description and photo of the arrangement we ordered online. We read all care instructions and followed them meticulously, noting how long the flowers remained fresh enough to display.
Consistency: A good flower service should deliver quality blooms no matter the location of your recipient. Our testers across the country took photos and detailed notes about delivery and bouquet quality to compare experiences.
Lauren Savoie/Insider
When should I order flowers for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and other popular holidays?
While many flower delivery services offer next-day delivery for most of the year, all bets are off when it comes to major holidays like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. When ordering around popular holidays, a safe bet is to place your order two weeks in advance of the day you want the flowers delivered. This will ensure you have plenty of arrangements and delivery dates to choose from.
Is it safe to have fresh flowers around pets?
It depends on the types of flowers. The ASPCA maintains a comprehensive list of flowers and plants and whether they are toxic or safe for dogs and cats. It's important to remember that certain plants can still be toxic to animals even if they are kept out of reach; pollen and other airborne spores can get into the fur of animals and be ingested during grooming.
If you're ordering flowers for a household that has pets, it's best to stick with a service that allows you to see the types of flowers in the arrangement before ordering. Some brands, like Fresh Sends or subscription services, don't allow you to preview the bouquet before it's sent, which could land you with a bouquet that isn't pet safe.
Our top pick, UrbanStems, lists the type of flowers in each arrangement, so you can check to make sure it's safe for your pet. Some brands, like Floracracy, take it a step further and let you completely customize your bouquet so you can be sure to only include plants and flowers that are safe.
How long do fresh flowers last?
A lot depends on how recently the flowers were cut before they arrived at your home. Flowers can be cut hours, days, or weeks before shipping to you, greatly varying their lifespan in your home. On average, however, you can expect fresh flowers to last five days to a week in a vase with good care. If you're interested in longer-lasting flowers, preserved roses or a dried bouquet are great options.
What's the best way to keep fresh flowers alive longer?
Some ways to extend the life of your fresh flowers include cutting the stems before putting them in water, using flower food in the water (often supplied with the bouquet, but can be homemade), and changing the water whenever it gets discolored or cloudy. You can read more tips for keeping flowers fresh here.
Remember that you don't have to trash the whole bouquet if a few flowers are dead or wilted; just remove the dead flowers and rearrange or tighten the bouquet as needed (you may need to downsize to a smaller vase). Hardy flowers with woody stems like roses can last several weeks with proper care.
What are the best types of flowers to buy?
When in doubt, roses are a great pick. They're long-lasting, easy to care for, and largely pet safe. You can get roses in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes to suit any recipient.
Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/FUB69Nu
Reviewed by mimisabreena
on
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
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