Roses are red, violets are blue, 940 million flowers are traveling (through Miami) to you

MIAMI — If any husbands or boyfriends mess up Valentine's Day, it's not because of a shortage of flowers.

In the run up to Feb. 14, agricultural specialists at Miami International Airport have processed about 940 million stems of cut flowers, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Around 90% of the fresh cut flowers being sold for Valentine's Day in the United States come through Miami, while the other 10% pass through Los Angeles.

Roses, carnations, pompons, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums and gypsophila arrive on hundreds of flights, mostly from Colombia and Ecuador, to Miami on their journey to florists and supermarkets across the U.S. and Canada.

“There's no shortage,” says Lenny Walker of Wheeling, vice president of sales and operations for Kennicott Brothers wholesale florists based in Chicago.

“We haven’t had any quality issues this year,” Walker said. “Shipping has been on schedule. The crop timing is within reason. We are filling every order.”

In business since 1881, Kennicott imports and distributes cut flowers, potted plants and supplies across 10 states.

“This is one of the best years we have seen for quality, availability and the ease of getting it to market,” Walker said. “We sell to your local florists, supermarkets, wholesalers.”

While there are a lot of choices out there, Walker urges supporting local florists.

“Flower business is a small business,” he said. “Buy locally, and get to know your local florist.”

This year has seen an increase in flower imports, according to Virginia-based Society of American Florists.

During the peak season from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, Miami International Airport expects to receive 90,154 tons of cut flowers, marking a 3% increase compared to last year’s 87,529 tons over the same period, the society reports.

Miami's largest flower importer is Avianca Cargo, based in Medellín, Colombia. In the past three weeks, the company has transported about 18,000 tons of flowers on 300 full cargo flights, Senior Vice President Diogo Elias said during a news conference last week in Miami.

“We transport flowers all year round, but specifically during the Valentine’s season, we more than double our capacity because there’s more than double the demand,” Elias said.

Flowers continue to make up one of the airport's largest imports, Miami-Dade Chief Operation Officer Jimmy Morales said. The airport received more than 3 million tons of cargo last year, with flowers accounting for nearly 400,000 tons, worth more than $1.6 billion.

“With 1,500 tons of flowers arriving daily, that equals 90,000 tons of flower imports worth $450 million just in January and February,” Morales said.

It’s a big job for U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists, who check the bundles of flowers for potentially harmful plant, pest and foreign animal diseases from entering the country, MIA port Director Daniel Alonso said.

“Invasive species have caused $120 billion in annual economic and environmental losses to the United States, including the yield and quality losses for the American agriculture industry,” Alonso said.

But this year, the Society of American Florists has received no reports of a shortage of cut flowers due to pests or infestations leading to confiscations at the border.

“The floral industry maintains rigorous pest control measures throughout the supply chain to ensure that flowers meet U.S. standards,” said Elizabeth Daly, director of marketing and communications for SAF.

• Daily Herald Suburban Business Editor Madhu Krishnamurthy contributed to this report.