February 14 — Valentine's Day in Mumbai

February 14 — Valentine's Day in Mumbai, and rose season in Maval

Ahead of February 14 — Valentine's Day in Mumbai — greenhouses in Maval, near Pune, send red roses such as Red Naomi and Black Baccara to the city, to Delhi and Bangalore, and abroad. No variety is named on a Mumbai order, though, so choosing a bouquet for the day comes down to colour, the number of stems and where the flowers will actually be handed over.

Red first, white with care: French roses for the fourteenth

Red is the colour most people reach for on the fourteenth. In the language florists still use, red stands for passionate love, pink for something gentler, and white for plain purity, though no single list of meanings holds everywhere.

Eleven red French roses are the plainest choice for the day. French rose isn't a variety here: it's a technique, where the florist folds each outer petal back by hand so the flower opens fuller than it would on its own.

White needs a little more thought as a romantic gift. In India white bouquets are more often chosen for condolences. Eleven white French roses suit someone who already loves white for its own sake, rather than someone simply following the day's usual colour. The number of stems is chosen when ordering.

A box holds itself upright on a table without a vase, which suits a restaurant or a dinner at home better than loose stems do, such as Designer Box No. 2 among the flowers in a box.

For a restaurant, the timing is agreed with the manager there, so the box comes out with dessert or just before a toast. A bouquet works better at a doorway, where someone is home to carry it straight to water.

Chocolate or strawberries can go into the same order as something to go with the bouquet. Cocoa butter melts at around 34 to 38°C, so once the courier has it, it isn't left standing in the sun. It helps to check what the weather and a hotel address mean for the order before placing it, since both can change how the flowers arrive.

Booking Valentine's flower delivery in Mumbai ahead of the rush

In Mumbai, February 14 — Valentine's Day — brings several times the usual orders, one of the peak days of the year for the florist. Delivery windows widen, and nobody promises an exact minute for the doorbell. The fix is simply to order early: a booking placed a few days before the fourteenth has far more delivery slots to choose from than one placed on the day itself.

Before the courier leaves, the florist photographs the finished bouquet, so stems can be checked and anything reworked while there's still time. The recipient isn't phoned ahead of the delivery, except when a building needs a call to let the courier in. A message on the card can be signed or left anonymous — the choice stays with whoever is sending the flowers. Delivery zones and the courier's routine are set out separately.

A first Valentine's order in Mumbai starts easiest with colour: red for romance, white for someone who already prefers it. Then comes the format: a bouquet of French roses for the doorway, or flowers in a box for the table.