Accessibility links
Episode 603: A Rose On Any Other Day : Planet Money The logistical miracles and wild risks behind getting red roses to your doorstep on Valentine's Day.

Planet MoneyPlanet Money

The Economy Explained

Trade

Episode 603: A Rose On Any Other Day

Episode 603: A Rose On Any Other Day

Listen · 17:37
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/386005044/386144345" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Enlarge this image

Long-stem red roses in Ecuador NPR hide caption

toggle caption
NPR

Long-stem red roses in Ecuador

NPR

Ever wonder how a rose loses its thorns? This shop will sell 25,000 roses on Valentine's Day.

A video posted by Planet Money (@planetmoney) on

Red roses are a unique product — a commodity worth double the price for a very short, 24-hour period: Valentine's Day.

To cash in on this demand, flower growers have to figure out how to make millions of roses bloom exactly the right amount, at exactly the right moment, in the middle of February — get them from farms in Africa and South America to your doorstep.

On today's show: the logistical miracles and wild risks behind getting red roses to your Valentine.

Music: Mary J. Blige's "Roses." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Spotify/ Tumblr.

Planet MoneyPlanet Money

The Economy Explained