Online flower delivery services make sending blooms a breeze. For one, they allow you to order and schedule everything online well ahead of your drop date and your options for buying bouquets online, along with potted plants and other fresh floral arrangements, are essentially endless. If you're planning to bestow some blooms on someone, save yourself some hassle -- and risk -- by sending a beautiful bouquet for any occasion from a trusted -- and tested -- online flower delivery service.
We recently tried a few of the leading online flower delivery services to weed out the duds and help you find the best bouquet for anyone you think deserves a lovely bunch of blossoms. The flower delivery industry has evolved way beyond a handful of tulips or a simple bunch of roses with some baby's breath thrown in. Online choices for floral arrangement styles are vast including rustic bouquets, modern and tropical arrangements, intricate designs, simple stems and potted plants too.
Keep in mind, shipping flowers on and around holidays like Mother's Day, Easter and Valentine's Day is always going to be more expensive due to through-the-roof demand, so be prepared to shell out a few extra bucks to get them delivered on time. And if the person you're sending gift to to happens to be more of a plant gal or green-thumb gardener type, we've got you covered with the best online plant delivery services and best garden box and seed delivery services for 2021.
While we didn't have a chance to try every flower delivery service, we've noted the ones we did try and what we liked or didn't like about them. We considered things such as the overall flower selection and ordering process, right on through to the delivery, tracking and how the blooms looked, smelled and held up over time after arriving.
You can even order your flowers online from a local florist with new services such as Floom. To find that stunning floral bouquet or arrangement to make someone smile, keep reading our picks for the best flower delivery services in 2021.
Note that we've personally used the first six services, but we're also including the latter set because they have some unique offerings that might appeal to you.
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Flower delivery services: Tested and recommended
Beyond the fun name, this online flower delivery service offers an impressive variety of floral arrangements, plants and other beautiful blooms and a gorgeous floral design for Mother's Day, Valentine's or any special occasion.
Bouqs sources its flowers and plants from eco-friendly sustainable farms and offers same-day and next-day delivery, if needed. This service also offers seasonal arrangements of fresh blooms like the Tropical Love, as well as more traditional bouquets like the Angels, which feature dozens of light pink roses.
What we liked and didn't like: The flower delivery company lands on our list not just for having a large selection, which it does, but also because so many of them looked really cool and creatively designed, including several tropical bouquets. It was by far the hardest service to choose just one beautiful flower arrangement from -- which I suppose could be a bad thing, too. I ordered the Wild About U bouquet which arrived on time, fresh and fragrant.
Beyond the classic picks, Bouqs also sells succulents, cacti, plants and potted flowers like this orchid ($59). The aforementioned and cleverly assembled Wild About U is a unique arrangement that has both freshly cut flowers and succulents that can be potted or planted.
Insider tip: In an admittedly unscientific experiment, we found that Bouqs' flowers last a lot longer if you don't use the vase that comes with them, which is made from powder-coated metal. In the Bouqs' vase, flowers lasted about three days before they started to wilt -- versus about a week in a glass vase.
You can also save 20% off any Bouqs order with special code CNET20.
Bouqs also offers flower subscriptions, starting at $36 per month, to have fresh flowers delivered to your door on the regular. It's the thoughtful floral gift that keeps on giving and you'll save roughly 30% off over a one-time purchase price.
You're probably not going to find cheap flowers on or around a major floral holiday like Valentine's or Mother's Day (unless you grow them yourself), so it may be a fool's errand to even try. That said, 1-800-Flowers has some decent deals on bouquets if you're trying not to spend a fortune. We found bouquets from this popular flower delivery service starting at just $30, including a dozen purple roses and assorted tulip arrangements.
What we liked and didn't like: Arrangements from 1-800-Flowers may not have the same wow factor as other delivery services on our list, but for somone with classic taste you can't go wrong ordering beautiful flowers from this tried-and-true online florist. We appreciate the bargain bouquets, including some bunches as low as $30 or $40. 1-800-Flowers also offers same-day delivery and other gifting options such as plants, keepsakes and a number of other eats and trinkets you can add to your purchase.
Insider tip: Check the sale section before you decide on a full-priced bouquet.
Some bouquets that caught our eye include the Lovely Lavender Medley, made up of white roses and carnations, lavender Peruvian lilies, baby's breath and more, or this vibrant Warm Sunset Bouquet with sunflowers. If you're not in a hurry, you can also order one of the 1-800-Flowers' festive seasonal arrangements, which make perfect centerpieces for any event or special occasion.
If you think gifting a single bouquet of flowers is old hat, how about a monthly delivery of fresh flowers or arrangements? Flower subscription services are becoming increasingly popular, ensuring delivery of beautiful blooms month after month, and that's what sets BloomsyBox apart. You can order delivery subscriptions of hand-tied bouquets from sustainable farms on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis.
What we liked and didn't like: BloomsyBox flowers are high quality. When they arrived they seemed a little sad -- but perked up in a vase of water and stayed perky for nearly a week. On the downside, I'll say it was one of my least favorite ordering experiences of the bunch. Things like adding a note were not intuitive, and when I went to track my orders, there was almost no information available. I had to start a chat with the chatbot to get any sort of update.
Insider tip: Use our exclusive discount code FLOWERPOWER12 at checkout for 12% off your order.
BloomsyBox subscriptions start at $45 a month, but you can spring for the deluxe and premium bouquets. The more expensive plans feature more flowers per delivery. BloomsyBox also has a full inventory of bouquets that you can order and send as a one-time gift. Most arrangements are around $50 and many have a modern appeal like this Pastel Bouquet.
Between my own positive experience and those of a handful of others from the CNET team, Farmgirl Flowers captures the top spot on our list of the best presentation of any flower delivery service.
This popular San Francisco-based flower delivery service is known for its ethically grown flowers and burlap-wrapped bouquets, and they're all extremely Instagram- or Pinterest-ready, bursting with flowers. The overall selection is not as vast as some of the other online florists but what they do, they do well. There's a specific rustic look to Farmgirl's bountiful arrangements, too, that is underscored by the burlap wrap each bunch is swathed in.
What we liked and didn't like: Something about my Farmgirl Flowers bouquet just felt a little more special than most of the others. Maybe it was that burlap wrap or that the bouquet itself seemed more full, but it was the clear winner of the services we tested. My bouquet also seemed to get quite a bit more lively when given water and plant food as the friendly instructions directed me to and kept form for a solid week.
Other members of our team had similar experiences, with one recalling how much her mother "loved the packaging and raved about how beautiful the bouquet was." Another remembers the "super healthy flowers and cool combinations to choose from."
Bouquets start at $42 for a simple bunch of tulips and go up from there. One of Farmgirl Flowers' most popular picks is The Market Haul, which includes 35 stems of fresh and seasonal flowers (three to four varieties in the mix), plus bits of greens so you can make adjustments or create a few smaller arrangements if you want.
In addition to the great subscription service mentioned above, BloomsyBox offers some seriously cool tropical flower bouquet options. I had one sent to my mom last Mother's Day and she loved it calling it "very sci-fi" and "like nothing she'd ever been sent before" (see photo). BloomsyBox has about six tropical bouquets using flowers sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and they start at around $50.
Use our exclusive discount code FLOWERPOWER12 at checkout for 12% off your order.
If you're looking for a modern arrangement with unique blooms and contemporary colors, our flower delivery service of choice is UrbanStems. This online florist works with sustainable farms to offer a wide selection of chic floral arrangements and potted plants.
What we liked and didn't like: The sleek modern bouquets are what set this service apart from the rest. The classic bouquets are fine but nothing special or out of the ordinary -- although mine did last longer than some other bouquets. UrbanStems also has some really great add-on treats. The ordering interface is simple, and the flowers I ordered arrived on time and were fresh and healthy, although not very fragrant at all. Of note, few other national services offer chic and modern dried floral arrangements like The Icon or The Rory -- which both make use of dried flowers.
Insider tip: UrbanStems has some solid add-ons like Belgian Neuhaus chocolate truffles and fancy Sugarfina candies. I added both and enjoyed them thoroughly.
UrbanStems delivers anywhere in the country, and products run the gamut from classic lush bouquets such as The Bold with roses, ranunculus and stock to the more modern style we touched on earlier. The service also offers delivery on a selection of plants. The Cathy, for instance, is a low-maintenance xerographic air plant that might make a better pick for someone without a green thumb.
Bouquets start at $45 for a 10-stem bunch of Royal roses, with most other arrangements hovering in the $60 to $80 range. Some are so delicate that they require hand delivery, while others are shipped through more traditional methods. Delivery date options are listed for each bouquet.
If you're in a pinch and need flowers like, yesterday, FTD is my pick for last-minute delivery. FTD Flowers has a whole bunch of arrangements available at a moment's notice along with categories including floral centerpieces such as the Smiles and Sunshine Arrangement that includes a vase, all for just $50. There are also potted planted and edible add-ons to choose from such as chocolates and candies. You can opt for same- or next-day delivery on many of these products too.
What we liked and didn't like: I wasn't totally bowled over with the overall selection of flowers from FTD -- the arrangements seemed a bit boring -- but I was impressed with how many bouquets the florist had available for same-day and next-day delivery. There were as many as 48 bouquets you can order and have delivered within 24 hours, so it's an ideal flower delivery option for any last-minute Larrys.
I ordered the Hello Sunshine bouquet which indeed came the next day and the fresh flowers were in great shape -- some of the most vibrant of any I received. Plus, all the arrangements come with a vase so there's no work to be done for the giftee!
Insider tip: Despite FTD's speedy service be warned, it's always better to place your order in advance if you need the flowers for a major holiday like Valentine's or Mother's Day (as opposed to a personal occasion).
Other flower delivery options
If you're more of a crafty type, you might enjoy creating "do-it-yourself" bouquets, like those offered by Enjoy Flowers. The DIY Collection is actually a flower delivery subscription service, so she'll have a new array of blooms delivered on a regular basis. You can choose from three sizes -- 20, 30 or 40 stems -- as well as between biweekly or monthly deliveries.
The flowers will all be complementary to one another, but it will be up to her (or you) to be the floral designer and put them together into a cohesive arrangement to create your own gorgeous bouquet. Think you're up for the challenge? The DIY flower makes a great gift for any creative spirit.
It's always nice to support local businesses when you can, and Floom pulls from a network of independent florists in a few major US cities to fulfill orders. You can currently order Floom flowers from local businesses in New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. A talented local florist will put together your arrangement to have it delivered when you need.
Because it's somewhat location-based, your flower options will depend on where you're having the bouquet delivered. Floom also has same-day delivery options if you lost track of Mother's Day, Easter or Valentine's Day and can't get to the flower shop in time.
Let's start by saying Venus Et Fleurs' flowers are definitely a vibe and perhaps not the right pick for everyone. If these boxes of roses look familiar, it's probably because they're always popping up on celebrity social media accounts, including the Kardashians.
If you're looking for something truly luxe, take a browse through the sleek brand's floral inventory. Small boxes with a single rose start at $39 (yes, for a single rose), while more lavish displays can cost a whole lot more, upward of $1,000. You can also choose from a variety of rose colors and containers, including bold metallic and rainbow varieties.
More green recommendations
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