Chicago’s flower market is blooming

CHICAGO — While some cities have a bouquet of local flower options, others have slim pickings.

To find the top blooms in America, Lawn Love ranked 2022’s Best Cities for Local Flowers. They compared nearly 200 cities based on flower and delivery access, vendor quality, and local demand.

Chicago ranked 8th as a blooming floral city for local flowers, and 2^nd for a city with the most delivery services.

Now that spring has fully flourished, stop and smell the roses. Or tiptoe through the tulips. Or buy fresh-cut local flowers for Mom this Mother’s Day.

As part of the study, researchers asked a panel of industry experts questions like ‘How can consumers ensure they’re buying the freshest flowers from their local florist?’.

“Ask the florist when the flowers came in,” says Melinda Knuth, assistant professor, NC State University. “A well-handled flower will last the consumer 10–14 days at home. Make sure your florist has tidy coolers, the water in the floral vase is clean, and that you know how to properly use “flower food” that comes with the flowers. This is a food solution that will help them last as long as possible.”

You can see how each city fared in the study’s results.