When mom receives pink roses in a Mother's Day bouquet, it's the end of a long process that began 80 days before, when a farmer, typically one living in the Andean mountains of Ecuador, pinched his flowers to start a new cycle and have peak of production in time for the holiday.
"Mother's Day is known as a holiday of volume, but the last few years the production for Mother's Day has been slow because of the weather conditions in Ecuador and Colombia," said José Vicente Mantilla, a manager at Bellaflor Group. The company manages a 38-acre farm, 7,874 feet above sea level in the suburbs of Quito, Ecuador.
Although Bellaflor sells more flowers on Mother's Day, revenue on Valentine's Day is larger because moms may receive a mix of flowers, while Valentine's Day is more skewed to pricier roses. Though this year, because of the weather conditions, Mother's Day prices are approaching Valentine's Day level prices, said Mantilla.
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