Tariffs could take the bloom off Mother's Day flowers

CNN

10-05-2025

Mother's Day is busy season for American florists. But this year, there's an added source of stress: President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, which are raising the prices of some flowers and causing some wary shoppers to pull back on spending.
'We have to charge more, and it's definitely affecting sales — which I totally get,' Allison Krivachek of Hydrangea Bloom in Tiffin, Iowa, told CNN. 'People just don't have the disposable income they used to.'
Eighty percent of all cut flowers sold in the United States are imported from Colombia, Canada or Ecuador, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The majority of those flowers come from Colombia and Ecuador, where year-round growing climates support the floral industry. Those countries now face tariffs making it more expensive for their products to enter the United States.
And Mother's Day spending has dropped 14% among US shoppers as many are scaling back due to tariffs and economic concerns, according to a LendingTree survey.
America imported approximately $2.26 billion worth of fresh-cut flowers in 2024, with Colombia accounting for 60% of the market and Ecuador following with 25%, according to US Census Bureau data.
Debra Prinzing, founder of the Slow Flowers Society and a leading advocate for American-grown flowers, said the US floral industry was built to rely on imports.
'Don't like it, but that's just the reality,' Prinzing told CNN.
'Ridiculously different,' is how Krivachek describes this year's price hike. Flowers such as lisianthus have doubled in price, Krivachek said, and roses are up anywhere from 10% to 50% compared to last year. She believes the price hikes are higher than what would be reflected in a 10% tariff.
'It's just really weird that there's been such a jump because the tariffs aren't that much. And I don't know if they're raising their prices because of supply and demand,' she said.
As a result, she's raised the price of her most popular Mother's Day arrangement from $100 to $125 this year. And despite efforts to be transparent with customers, demand has taken a hit.
'We're down quite a bit,' Krivachek said. 'We're down about 30% year-over-year on this Mother's Day compared to other Mother's Days.'
Many customers are now buying flowers to craft their own arrangements, according to Krivachek.
The Society of American Florists told CNN florists and wholesalers across the country are adapting to the new financial pressures — much like they did during the pandemic and other supply chain disruptions.
'While tariffs and cost increases are not welcome developments, the floral industry is remarkably resilient,' the society told CNN in a statement.
Florists are ordering products earlier, strengthening relationships with growers and wholesalers and planning further in advance to manage costs, the society said.
While Krivachek has felt the pressure, she's found ways to adjust, such as by sourcing from local flower farmers.
'I'm still going to have to import flowers,' she said. 'I'm in Iowa, so there's not a lot of variety, especially with weddings. There's certain flowers that only you can get from Ecuador and Colombia.'