Sending flowers to Argentina from the United States

1. The time difference

Buenos Aires is on UTC−3 and does not change its clocks. The US does, so the gap changes twice a year: it is smaller from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November (US daylight saving time) and one hour larger the rest of the year. Buenos Aires is always ahead of the US:

• Eastern (New York, Miami): 1 hour behind Buenos Aires from March to early November, 2 hours behind the rest of the year.
• Central (Chicago, Houston): 2 hours behind Buenos Aires from March to early November, 3 hours behind the rest of the year.
• Mountain (Denver): 3 hours behind Buenos Aires from March to early November, 4 hours behind the rest of the year.
• Pacific (Los Angeles, San Francisco): 4 hours behind Buenos Aires from March to early November, 5 hours behind the rest of the year.

Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, so it is 4 hours behind Buenos Aires all year.

What that means for same-day delivery

Delivery windows run on Buenos Aires time, and the checkout only offers the ones we can still make. The exact-time delivery option accepts same-day orders until about 6 PM in Buenos Aires, which is:

• Eastern: 5 PM from March to early November, 4 PM the rest of the year.
• Central: 4 PM from March to early November, 3 PM the rest of the year.
• Mountain: 3 PM from March to early November, 2 PM the rest of the year.
• Pacific: 2 PM from March to early November, 1 PM the rest of the year.

Regular delivery windows need a couple of hours’ notice, so they close earlier. If it is already afternoon on the East Coast, the safest choice is tomorrow’s date.

2. The recipient’s phone number

The recipient’s phone number is a required field at checkout. Argentine numbers look different depending on who writes them:

• A Buenos Aires mobile written the international way is +54 9 11 1234-5678: 54 is Argentina, the 9 marks a mobile, 11 is Buenos Aires.
• Locally, the same number is often written 15 1234-5678. To use it from abroad, drop the 15 and put +54 9 11 in front.
• A landline in Buenos Aires is +54 11 1234-5678, without the 9.

Your own phone number can be your US number.

3. The address

Argentine addresses put the street name first and the number after: Av. Cabildo 1500. The checkout asks for them separately (Calle and Número), plus the neighbourhood or town (Localidad de envío), which also sets the delivery fee.

Most people in Buenos Aires live in apartment buildings, so Piso y departamento (floor and apartment) is a required field. Ask for it exactly as they write it, for example 4° B. Floors are counted differently from the US: the ground floor is planta baja (PB), and the “1st floor” (1°) is what Americans call the second floor.

Dates are written day first

In Argentina, 10/11 means 10 November, not October 11. Double-check the date you pick in the checkout calendar, especially if someone in Argentina told you the date in numbers.

Dates that differ from the US calendar

• Mother’s Day is the third Sunday of October in Argentina, not May. See Mother’s Day in Argentina for this year’s date.
• Father’s Day is the third Sunday of June — the same day as in the US.
• Valentine’s Day is February 14, as in the US.
• Friend’s Day (Día del Amigo), July 20, is widely celebrated in Argentina and has no US equivalent.