Ten common mistakes when giving flowers

These are the mistakes we actually see, ordered by how many times a week we see them. None is serious; all are avoidable.

1. Leaving out the floor and apartment number

It is number one by far and the main cause of failed deliveries. "Av. Cabildo 2500" in a twelve-story building is not an address.

2. Not leaving a phone number for the recipient

If no one answers the buzzer, the phone is the only thing that saves the delivery. Putting your number instead of the other person's does not help.

3. Sending lilies to a home with cats

The whole plant, pollen included, is seriously toxic to cats and can cause kidney failure. It is not an exaggerated precaution. If you don't know whether there are cats, choose another flower. It is covered in the post on lilies.

4. Red roses in a work setting

It changes the message completely and puts the other person in an awkward spot in front of their coworkers. For an office: white, yellow, orange or mixed colors.

5. Buying the same day on a peak date

February 14 and the Saturday before Mother's Day (October in Argentina) are the worst days of the year to buy: the wholesale price has already gone up, the best varieties are sold out, and the time slots are full.

6. Choosing the bouquet by its size in the photo

Stem length and bud size matter more than quantity. Twelve good roses look better than twenty-four short ones, and they usually cost about the same.

7. Sending a big bouquet to a small apartment

A one-meter (three-foot) arrangement in a studio apartment is a problem, not a gift. The same goes for an older person who can't handle a heavy vase.

8. Strong scents where they don't belong

Tuberoses or Oriental lilies in an office, a hospital or a small bedroom lead to real complaints. In enclosed spaces, choose unscented species.

9. Leaving the card blank or using a stock phrase

It is the part the person keeps and the one most neglected. Two lines of your own are worth more than twice the flowers. Examples in what to write on the card.

10. Sending it late on a Friday

If it goes to an office, the bouquet spends the weekend alone, without water and with the air conditioning off. By Monday there is nothing left. Send it on a Tuesday or a Wednesday.

The mistake that is not on the list

Giving flowers "because you couldn't think of anything else" is not a mistake. What makes a bouquet work or not is what the card says, not how much thought you put into the product.