Watsonville rose grower ships out millions of stems

On Friday, local growers braced for crunch time the day before Valentine’s Day. Local rose grower and wholesaler California Pajarosa Floral said thousands of stems need to be cut, measured and graded at its location in Watsonville.

“Pretty soon we’ll be putting our feet up,” sales manager Paul Furman said. “We’ve been getting shipments now for about two weeks so we’re coming down the final stretch.”

Furman said California Pajarosa Floral is the only rose grower in Santa Cruz County and they ship close to 5 million stems a year. Valentine’s Day isn’t even one of their busiest times of the year.

“Everybody has a mother. But not everybody’s got a valentine,” Furman said.

Furman said the winter time is not ideal for growing flowers but they begin in November for Valentine’s Day. He said the company gets a lot of local business but they also ship all across the country.

“People understand that receiving flowers is a happy feeling but not only that it’s giving that makes you happy. So it’s really both ends you know create joy,” Furman said.

According to a national survey, more than 37 percent of Americans will buy flowers for Valentine’s Day, spending a total of $2.1 billion.