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A rose is a rose. Or not.(up front)
Order roses for Sweetie, Pookie, Honeypie, or even Mom, and you want them to look perfect, especially if you're paying up to $128 plus delivery. But recent tests of four online flower deliverers revealed thorny issues: bruised petals, wrong colors, and a couple of stems with no bloom at all.
How we tested. We ordered long-stemmed red roses from four companies that claim to ship overnight from central warehouses. (Big names, including FTD and 1-800-Flowers, ship from many locations or use local florists, resulting in too much variation for us to test.) And we ordered over and over--a dozen roses from each company weekly for up to six weeks.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Volunteers near our Yonkers, N.Y., headquarters received the flowers, then called a staffer who typically picked them up within a half-hour. We immediately measured and weighed the roses, trimmed their stems, and placed them in water with any accompanying flower food. We evaluated them over the next week.
What we found. All the roses came by the promised time, but as in love, you can't always get what you want. Our rundown, from best to worst, follows. (Except as noted, blooms were up to 2 1/2 inches, with little or no fragrance; stems, about 20 inches; boxes included flower food.)
ProFlowers. Usually included baby's breath, sometimes ferns, once a vase. In one order, one rose had no petals. Another time we got two dozen roses but no ferns or baby's breath. Outer petals were often dark and damaged (directions say to remove them). Blooms opened within 24 hours and lasted about a week.
Hallmark. Included baby's breath, a card, and vase. In one order, one rose had a broken stem. One week the site said it was "sold out" of red roses. Twice we saw offers for two dozen roses for the price of one. Flowers often had dark or damaged outer petals ...
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