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February 14 — Valentine's Day in San Francisco: roses in the wettest month
February 14 — Valentine's Day in San Francisco lands in the wettest month of the city's year, when rainfall builds through the winter from November and reaches its highest point in February. A courier still hands the roses to the recipient in person, card included, rather than leaving the box at the door, so what's left to decide is the colour of the rose, how many stems to send and what rides along beside them.
Red by a wide margin: the rose most Americans send on the fourteenth
Red is the safe choice by a wide margin: in the US, roses make up eighty-three per cent of the flowers bought for February 14, and red accounts for sixty-five per cent of those roses (2022).
French roses are a technique, not a variety: the florist works each outer petal back by hand to open the bloom fully. In Victorian flower dictionaries red stood for passion and white for purity, though these guides never agreed on one fixed list of meanings. Chinese tradition ties white flowers to mourning, so red is the steadier choice for a Chinese-American household.
A rose sharing the wrap with hydrangea suits anyone who finds red alone too much.
Roses here are sold by stem count, and the number is part of the order rather than an afterthought. There are ready formats of eleven and fifteen stems.
Ask for a different number, and the florist puts the bouquet together to order, then sends a photo with the price before taking payment. A photo goes out before the courier leaves in every case, counted order or not. It lets the buyer check the stem count and the shade of red, and ask for a change before the roses go out the door.
Valentine's flower delivery in San Francisco, chocolates in the same order
Chocolates travel with the roses rather than as a separate order. Belgian Chocolate Lips, a cake or a foil balloon, all from the gifts to go with bouquets list, can be added to the same order at checkout. A message card comes at no extra cost, and it can carry a name or stay unsigned.
On 14 February orders run at several times the usual volume, so delivery slots are wider and nobody promises an exact minute. Booking early helps, since earlier orders have more slots to choose from, and the date and slot are set at checkout for any zone in the city. Delivery terms cover what that involves in full.
A weekday delivery to a hotel or an office calls for different details than the flowers sent home: a hotel delivery needs the surname on the guest's booking and the room number, if it's known; an office delivery needs the company name and floor.
Anyone ordering for the first time in San Francisco this Valentine's Day might start with the roses: red or white on their own, or paired with hydrangea in a mixed bouquet. For everyone outside the couple on the card, flowers for loved ones is the place to start.