MACON, Ga. — Florists in Central Georgia are facing a flower shortage, and this come as one of their most profitable holidays has arrived.
Lynn Stevens is the owner of Petals & More. She says she has spent months preparing flowers for Mother's Day.
"It has definitely been swamped," Stevens said.
So swamped, that they sold out of flowers.
"It is so hard to get flowers at this point in time," she said.
Stevens says she tried to be conservative this year when ordering flowers, because prices have gone up.
"Several factors going on, but one of the main things that started two to three weeks ago is a labor strike in Colombia, in South America." she said.
Stevens says many local florists and wholesalers are struggling to get what that they've asked for because most of their flowers come out of Ecuador and Colombia.
"We also battle competition with the big box stores, and when there's a shortage on flowers, a lot of times its because they can order with so much buying power," Stevens said.
Meaning they'd have a better chance getting what they want, compared to a local florist.
Beth Youmans, owner of Farmyard Flowers in Forsyth, says this is all the more reason to purchase flowers from local growers and florists.
"If we invest in local businesses here and local flower owners specifically then, we can meet that demand," Youmans said.
In order to support local businesses, Youmans says, you have to be flexible.
"You can't just say I want a rose in the middle of winter, if you're buying locally. It'd have to be what is seasonally growing," Youmans said.
Stevens agrees, and says she is looking forward to things going back to normal, so that she can give her customers exactly what they want.