FAQ

OUR DESIGNERS

We are a small, local, family owned and operated florist known for elaborate and impressive arrangements. We are a mother, father, daughter (and occasionally grandma!) team, and our family has over 100 years of combined floral design experience. We use locally grown and organic flowers and we carry rare, interesting, unusual and exotic blooms. All of our bouquets are one-of-a-kind and arranged by a floral designer with 26+ years of experience. We are located in the heart of San Francisco's Financial District and were established by Elizabeth, a Polish immigrant artist, in 1989.  

OUR FLOWERS

We use locally-grown, seasonal flowers of the highest quality. All of our bouquets are one of a kind and consist of the freshest organic flowers.

Depending on the season, your bouquet may include dahlias, garden roses, peonies, roses, orchids (phalaenopsis, dendrobium, cymbidium, vanda, mokara, and bat flower), David Austin garden roses, ranunculus, anemone, ornamental kale, calla lilies, mini calla lilies, spray roses, hydrangea, astilbe japonica, liliac scabious, stargazer lilies, casablanca lilies, asiatic lilies, oriental lilies, tiger lilies, parrot tulips, double tulips, Dutch tulips, French tulips, sunflowers, veronica, scabiosa, snapdragon, hyacinth, freesia, delphinium, dianthus, daffodils, lisianthis, liatris, paper white, magnolia, lotus pods, star of Bethlehem, viburnum, myrtle, grevillea, irises, sweetpea, delphinium, cushion flowers, hypericum berries, narcissus, bells of Ireland, tuberose, barbatus green balls, naked ladies, aster, amaryllis, poinsettia, cosmos, mossy dianthus, gorse, privet, lily of the Nile, African gerbera daisies, celosia, stock, lilac, lavender, thistles, jasmine...as well as a whole array of exotic flowers (succulents, artichokes, kumquats, king protea, pincushion protea, anthurium, bird of paradise, haliconia, pomegranates, pineapples, blackberries)... and foliage (camellia, eucalyptus, curly willow, dogwood branches, snow white berries, dusty miller, cherry blossoms, lily grass, kangaroo paw, limonium, aster solidago, astilbe, wax flower, holly, Queen Anne's lace, herbs).

Many of our clients ask if we use carnations, mums, traditional daisies, and baby's breath in our arrangements - we do not (unless these flowers are specifically requested by a customer).

OUR FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS

We offer vase arrangements as well as burlap-wrapped bouquets in a variety of styles, from lush to modern, from 'prim and proper' to 'just picked from the garden', from traditional to wild, from high-style contemporary to tussie-mussie, from bold to understated, from abstract to freestyle, from formal to French handheld, from styled to gathered, and from minimalist to lavish. We are experienced in angular design, armature design, creative design, duo design, mono botanic design, multi rhythmic design, stretch design, tapestry design, underwater design, abstract creative design, Oriental line design, line-mass design, European mass design, assemblage and ikebana.

We use a wide variety of high-quality vases, most frequently Go Green recycled glass vases or handmade ceramic vases from Portugal and Poland. We also use natural wooden boxes (made in San Francisco), bamboo boxes, live moss "bird's nest" vases, ceramic and cement vases, stone vases, genuine crystal vases, and burlap-sleeved glass vases. Our arrangements presented without a vase are wrapped in burlap and tied with twine, raffia, cloth ribbon or satin ribbon.

Custom Arrangements

We offer a wide variety of custom arrangements in addition to those featured on our website. If you have something specific in mind, please give us a call and we will do our absolute best to accommodate your wishes!

Vase Arrangement vs. Burlap-Wrapped Bouquet

We highly recommend our vase option if you are not certain the recipient will be able to place the flowers in water right away. Flowers should not be out of water for more than an hour or so. Please keep in mind that most floral deliveries are accepted by reception areas and mail rooms - the staff of which are tasked with alerting company employees to incoming packages - for security reasons, and there may be a delay between the time a delivery is completed by our courier and the time your recipient receives their flowers.

Plants

We typically carry orchids (phalaenopsis, oncidium, bromeliad, miltonia, etc.), succulent gardens, drought-resistant cacti, bonsai trees, lucky bamboo, driftwood planters, and terrariums. Please give us a call to check for availability. 

Chocolates, Balloons, Champagne, Stuffed Animals, etc.

We only carry cut flowers and living plants in-store. However, our couriers may pick up any item of your choosing item from any store in San Francisco and deliver it along with your floral arrangement or potted plant for an additional fee of $15 (plus the cost of the item).

DELIVERY HOURS

We deliver between 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday. If you would like to have flowers delivered outside of regular business hours or on a Saturday, we may be able to accommodate you. Please give us a call to check for availability.

DELIVERY AREA

We deliver within San Francisco city limits. If you would like to have flowers delivered to the Greater Bay Area (up to 50 miles outside of San Francisco city limits), we may be able to accommodate you. Please give us a call to check for availability. 

SAME-DAY DELIVERY 

We offer same-day delivery within San Francisco city limits. We can accept same-day delivery orders until 2pm PST. (If you would like to place a same-day delivery order after 2pm, we may still be able to accommodate you. Please just give us a call to check for availability.) 

Please note: Unfortunately we cannot guarantee specific delivery time requests. We will do our absolute best to deliver as close to your selected time window as possible. We make every effort to deliver as early in the day as humanly possible (unless a later delivery time is requested) and the vast majority of our orders are delivered within our customers' preferred delivery time windows; however, the one-hour time slots available for selection during the check out process are not 100% guaranteed. Our same-day delivery turnaround time is typically 1 to 4 hours, and depends on a particular day's order volume and the distance travelled. (Financial District orders can usually be delivered in 1 to 2 hours; deliveries to addresses outside of the downtown area may require up to 3 or 4 hours to complete.) We can guarantee that same-day delivery orders submitted by 2pm will be delivered before 5pm. If your order is extremely time-sensitive, please contact us at (415) 518-3030 or order@flowerssf.com. (Our guarantee does not apply to shipments delayed by conditions beyond our control including but not limited to: acts of God; severe weather conditions; acts of public enemies or terrorists; war; strikes; and civil commotion.)

We deliver rain or shine!

DELIVERY TO BUSINESSES

For business deliveries, kindly leave a suite number and/or floor number and/or company name in addition to the address of the building. 

DELIVERY TO RESIDENCES

For residential deliveries, we will place orders as securely as possible in front of the door if the recipient is not at home. Please include as much information as possible to help our courier complete the delivery successfully by including detailed delivery information (such as door codes, who to leave the order with and/or who to call if the recipient is unavailable, building entry instructions, etc.) in the Additional Information box during the checkout process. Please be aware that certain high-security apartment buildings are inaccessible to delivery personnel without a door code. Please let us know if you would like our couriers to leave floral arrangements in the care of neighbors or nearby businesses for later pick up if they determine that there is no secure place to leave the flowers and the recipient is unreachable at the phone number provided at the time of delivery (as well as alert the recipient of their floral arrangement's location). If we are unable to complete a delivery despite our best efforts to access the building and coordinate with the recipient, we will contact the sender for further instructions (i.e. to reroute the delivery to a different address or to reschedule the delivery for another date or time). Please rest assured that our couriers exhaust all possible options to make sure your flowers arrive promptly at their destination! 

DELIVERY TO INSTITUTIONS

We deliver to hospitals, schools, universities, hospice care facilities, retirement centers, funeral homes, rectories, churches, hotels, restaurants, and convention centers. (For hospital deliveries, please be aware that most ICU patients are not permitted to receive flowers. With regard to educational institutions, please keep in mind that most schools/universities do not allow classroom deliveries for students; these deliveries must be directed to dormitories. For hotel delivery, please provide us with the name of the person under which the reservation was made in addition to the name of the recipient. Hotel deliveries are typically accepted by a reception area, bell desk, concierge or doorman. Restaurant deliveries are typically accepted by a host/hostess or manager.) 

PICK-UP 

If you would prefer to pick up your flowers, please just give us a call or email us to place your order and we will schedule a time for you (or your recipient) to pick up your flowers at our San Francisco location. You (or your recipient) are welcome to pick up at any time between 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday. To place a pick up order online, just let us know your arrival time in the Additional Information box you will see at checkout. We will refund the delivery charge once you have picked up your order.

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS

We offer a corporate account program (recurring weekly or monthly delivery) within San Francisco city limits. If you are interested in establishing a partnership, please give a call or e-mail us for more information. 

EVENTS

We design floral arrangements for special events which take place within San Francisco city limits. We provide centerpieces for a wide variety of events, including but not limited to corporate luncheons, galas, fundraisers, conferences, business dinners, holiday parties, baby showers, gender reveal parties, bridal showers, birthday parties, engagement parties, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, christenings, graduations, Quinceaneras, Sweet 16s, anniversary parties, graduations, and memorial services.

Our centerpieces start at $45 (vase included). Clients are welcome to provide their own vases. (In this case, our starting price is $35.) We implement a $100 purchase minimum (set-up, delivery, tax, consultations and samples not included) for events occurring Monday through Friday between 9am and 5pm. We implement a $250 minimum for events occurring outside of regular business hours or on Saturdays, and a $500 minimum for events occurring on Sundays or holidays. 

Unfortunately, we do not offer floral installations, holiday decorations, arches, chairback decorations, aisle/pew decorations, placement settings, flower walls, flower crowns, cake toppers, cake flowers, head wreaths, pomanders, candles, candelabra centerpieces, houseplants, full-size Christmas trees, boutonnieres or corsages at this time. We do offer green and flower garlands (table runners), living plant arrangements, rose petals and leis in addition to floral arrangements. Please note, we do not offer volume discounts for events or individuals.

Please contact us by phone or e-mail and provide us with the following information about your event:

Occasion

Date

Time

Location

Flower, Color & Style Preferences

Additonal Details

Approximate Number of Centerpieces

Estimated Budget

Name

Phone Number

E-Mail Address

WEDDINGS

We are honored by the incredible number of brides who have considered or chosen us for their wedding. Unfortunately, we do not have availability to accept additional wedding requests at this time. 

FUNERALS 

We are able to provide standard vase arrangements for funerals; however, we do not offer wreaths, standing sprays, casket sprays, basket arrangements or gift baskets.

ORDER STATUS

Customers who purchase online will receive an e-mail confirmation indicating that their order has left our shop and is in the process of being hand-delivered by our couriers. Please note, we do not currently offer automated delivery confirmation. We are however happy to give you status updates on your order over the phone or by e-mail - please don't hesitate to reach out to us! Otherwise, to check on the status of your order, please visit the Order Status page.

SUBSTITUTIONS POLICY

All flowers and colors are subject to seasonal and local availability. Due to seasonal and local variations of flowers and colors available, bouquets may differ from those shown. If a particular type of flower or vase is unavailable, we may substitute a similar element of equal or greater value to preserve the look and feel of our featured arrangements, with our designers paying careful attention to overall shape, size, style, and color combinations.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Orders cancelled with 24 hours notice are eligible for a full refund. Orders cancelled within 24 hours may be rescheduled for another date or the purchaser may receive a store credit for the full amount. 

OUR GUARANTEE

We guarantee that our flowers will last at least one week with proper care. 

If you are experiencing an issue with your delivery, please reach out to us and will we be glad to help! The most common issue with business deliveries is that an order was received on a recipient's behalf, but the person who signed for it has not yet alerted the recipient to its arrival. If your delivery was scheduled for a particular time frame, and you have not yet heard from the recipient, your order mostly likely remains in the care of the company's or building's reception area, security desk, or mail room.

FLOWER CARE

        • Keep fresh flowers away from drafts and extreme temperatures, which can quickly dry out the flowers and cause wilting. 
        • If your flowers came in burlap, remove this as soon as possible, and place your flowers in a vase full of lukewarm water.
        • Do not place your arrangement near fruit or in the path of cigarette smoke. The ethylene gas is detrimental to many flower types.
        • Avoid placing flower arrangements in windowsills and other areas with full sun where flowers can wilt due to overheating.
        • Most flowers will last longer under cool conditions. (Please keep in mind that most businesses turn off their air-conditioning over the weekend; this creates a less-than-optimal environment for flowers, which thrive in cooler conditions.)
        • Keep your vase filled with water! All flower and foliage stems should be submerged. Flowers stay fresher, longer when they have an ample amount of water. Immediately remove dead or wilting leaves and stems from fresh flower arrangements.
        • Change the water in the vase as often as possible. (First remove any dead or dying flowers from the arrangement. After carefully removing the good flowers, clean the vase thoroughly with soapy water to remove any bacteria that could cause the fresh flowers to deteriorate. Be sure to rinse thoroughly. Replace the water and mix in the flower preservative provided with your arrangement, according to the instructions on the packet. For best results, cut stems with a sharp knife at an angle about one to two inches from the bottom. This allows them to better absorb water. Do not use scissors to cut your flowers because they can crush the stems and prevent water absorption. Place loose stems or wrapped bouquets of fresh flowers in your water mixture as soon as possible.)

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