When are flowers most expensive? What government price data shows

Everyone “knows” roses cost more around Valentine’s Day. We wanted to see whether that shows up in hard data, and whether any other month stands out. So we pulled three years of the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index (CPI) for indoor plants and flowers. This index tracks what urban consumers pay for cut flowers and indoor plants, month by month [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].

The data

October 2025 was not published because of the 2025 federal funding lapse. October 2026 onward was not yet released when we checked. An index is not a dollar price: it shows how prices move relative to a base period.

What stands out

• February jumps every year. January to February: 4.4% in 2024, 4.8% in 2025, 4.0% in 2026 [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].
• Spring brings it back down. February to April: -2.4% in 2024, -4.5% in 2025, -4.4% in 2026 [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].
• No consistent May spike. Despite Mother’s Day, May was only slightly above April in all three years [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].
• The overall trend is up. September 2026 was 2.8% above September 2025 and 7.4% above September 2024 [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].
• The peak month isn’t always February. In 2024 the highest reading was June; in 2025 it was December [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].

What this means for your wallet

The index moves a few percent, so on a $50 bouquet a 4% swing is about $2. That’s real but small compared with the delivery fee, which has a median of $19.99 at big online florists [SendFlowers.io]. For most shoppers, when you order (rush vs standard delivery, weekday vs weekend) matters more than which month you buy in.

Roses are the exception to watch. The index blends all flowers and plants, so rose prices in Valentine’s week are likely to move more than the monthly average. FinanceBuzz’s Valentine’s survey found the local-florist dozen averaging $93.07 in 2026 [FinanceBuzz].

Weddings by season

The Knot’s couples survey shows a small winter premium for weddings: couples marrying January to March and April to June spent $2,900 on average on flowers, versus $2,700 for October to December weddings [The Knot]. See the wedding flowers guide.

Which flowers are in season when?

Availability depends on where the flowers are grown and shipped from. We didn’t find a reliable public source that tracks retail prices by flower variety and month, so we won’t put numbers on it. The practical advice is the same anywhere: ask a local florist what’s plentiful that week, and let them choose.

Download the data

The numbers in the table come straight from the BLS public data for series CUUR0000SEHL02. You can pull the same series yourself from data.bls.gov.