​Many bouquets travel 5,000+ miles before they reach a vase, moving through multiple handling steps and refrigerated storage along the way. To help flowers tolerate long transit, the industry commonly uses postharvest treatments and preservatives designed to reduce dehydration, limit disease/decay, and extend vase life.  

Chemical regulation differs by product meaning the FDA pesticide-residue monitoring is primarily focused on food commodities, while imported cut flowers are generally handled through plant-health inspection (pests and diseases) at entry and are NOT part of FDA’s monitoring unless the flowers are intended for consumption (edible flowers). The result is that consumers often have limited visibility into where their flowers were grown and what handling steps occur.

Consumers say they don’t know flower origins yet prefer U.S.-grown when given the choice. And while U.S. cut-flower production is growing, it’s still a relatively small slice of the overall floral marketplace.