The result? It is Valentine’s Day on Thursday and that preferred emblem of love is not looking its best this season. Florists in the Capital are sporting an ominous frown, with Bharat Kataria of Rajdhani Florist and Decorator complaining that some varieties of the flower are not lasting even a day.

At 3 am on Thursday, local suppliers will queue up at the Connaught Place flower market and will jostle to pick up the freshest breed. But by February 10, the best of the lot were exported to the US, UK, Australia and Italy leaving city dealers to sift through the leftovers.

Florists here have also been done in by the increased tendency this year to hoard the flowers. But when it came to delivering, the planters demanded a heavy price. Suman Mann of St Loren Connoisseurs Flowers in Vasant Vihar said, “Rose planters held back supplies. When we had contacted our dealers in Bangalore earlier this week, they insisted supplies had not come in. On Wednesday, we got a rush of calls from them with each supplier quoting a high price. This happens every year but this time it was worse.”

Prices will be exorbitant on Thursday. Sanjay Rajora of Fragrance in Khan Market said, “The cost of a single stem might be Rs 30. We have paid more too.”

This year, pre-bookings have not been encouraging either. Harmeet Singh Anand of Simply Flowers in Rajouri Garden said his business is 40 per cent less than last year, as customers are showing more interest in custom-made cakes or branded clothes for their partners.