Roses in Berlin

Roses in Berlin: imported stems, a Moabit market hall and how to choose

Since May 2010, Berlin's wholesale flower trade has run from the Großmarkt on Beusselstraße in Moabit, by the Westhafen, in a hall of roughly 12,000 square metres, twice the size of the old one on Friedrichstraße. Germany grows nowhere near enough roses to supply that trade, so a rose bought in Berlin is usually imported. That makes stem count, colour and how it reaches the recipient the real questions when choosing roses in Berlin, rather than where the flower started out.

By the stem or by the armful: sizing roses for a Berlin recipient

Size is the first decision, and Berlin lets you make it two ways: by stem count or by the length of the stem itself, in the section of roses chosen by height. The two scales answer different questions, one about how many roses, the other about how tall the bouquet stands in a vase, and either can carry a gift on its own.

German florists once tied bouquets in odd numbers because an odd count was simply easier to bind by hand. Few bother with the rule now, though an odd number still reads as the more festive choice to some. The largest arrangements sit apart, in giant rose bouquets, and a bouquet of that scale takes both arms to carry comfortably. It suits a recipient who can meet the courier in person rather than one who might be out when it arrives.

Colour and company: a rose palette that reads as a gift in Germany

Colour sits in its own section, rose colours, with raspberry and pink shades alongside the familiar red and white. A bouquet made up only of white flowers can read as a funeral arrangement to some people in Germany, which is one reason white roses are often paired with another shade, as in a bouquet of white and pink roses rather than white alone.

Berlin's catalogue also mixes roses with other flowers rather than leaving every stem a rose. A pairing of roses with hyacinth brings in a spring bulb flower, while other mixes set roses beside lisianthus or alongside hydrangea and spray roses. Anyone unsure whether to send a single flower or a fuller arrangement can let the mix bouquets section make that choice easier, since the roses already come paired with something else.

Rose delivery in Berlin: wrapped for the hand, boxed for the table

Paper wrapping, in designer patterns or a plain coffee tone, suits a bouquet that goes straight from courier to recipient's hands. A box asks nothing of the recipient in return: it needs no vase, and it can simply stand on a table until someone finds one.

Roses are put together once the order comes in, and the florist photographs the finished bouquet before the courier leaves. The delivery time is shown on the bouquet's own page, and most orders reach their recipient the same day they're placed. Zones and timing in full are on the delivery page.

Colour is the quickest way in if a shade already comes to mind, so start with rose colours. Unsure whether roses alone are enough, the mix bouquets pair them with something else. For a statement piece, look at giant rose bouquets, and where there's no vase waiting, flowers in boxes solve that on arrival.