Floral industry professionals have seen a flurry of recent headlines related to state and national COVID-19 rules as President Trump reaffirmed his desire to reopen the country in May, governors on the East and West Coast banded together to draft plans on easing restrictions, and the World Health Organization presented six conditions the group believes must be met before localities end lockdowns. But as industry groups and businessowners work to understand this maze of sometimes contradictory information, connective threads are emerging: Rules governing business operations can change at lightning speed, responses from municipality to municipality vary dramatically — and an understanding of who local decisionmakers are, and how to reach them, has never been more important.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed an executive order effective April 2 to April 30 requiring all Texans to stay home “unless they are participating in an essential service or activity” — including agriculture, which is usually the umbrella category for floriculture. Texas, however, has 254 counties — the largest number of any U.S. state — and the size of the state and number of local decisionmakers has led to layers of regulations and stay-at-home orders that floral professionals must navigate. In Dallas, for instance, McShan Florist was initially shut down for two days under a county directive; the shop successfully applied for an exemption that allowed them to resume operations as an essential business as long as they continued to comply with Centers for Disease Control best practices in sanitation and physical distancing. Three days later, the county designated all florists as “essential.”
“Now, we are busier than ever,” said Jodi McShan, AAF, a member of the Society of American Florists’ Next Generation Task Force and the Texas State Florists’ Association (TSFA) board of directors.
TSFA is one of many industry state associations working to clarify rules for its local floral community. On April 14, the Texas Department of Agriculture confirmed with TSFA Executive Director Dianna Nordman, AAF, that “horticulture, including floristry…has been designated as critical infrastructure.” The news gives florists in jurisdictions with stricter stay-at-home orders a new tool to use as they advocate for their businesses with local authorities, including judges, and make the case that they can comply with CDC standards to offer services such as safe, contact-free delivery and that they fall into the “critical infrastructure” category as defined by a state-level agency.
Nordman said much of her time is currently dedicated to understanding the rules from county to county, including changes to those rules, such as the extension (or easing) of a lockdown order, tracking how communities are defining essential/nonessential businesses, and communicating regularly with the Texas Department of Agriculture and other state agencies — and then pushing all of the information out to members. The issues related to COVID-19 are often complex — as industry members struggle to save their businesses, they also balance concerns about public health and the welfare of their employees, customers, and families — and answers are rarely black and white, Nordman added.
“We want to make sure that florists have the knowledge and opportunity to make the right decisions for their businesses and their communities,” she explained. “In some cases, businesses may decide to close for now. We respect and support that decision, too.”
Rod Crittenden, CEO and executive vice president of the Great Lakes Floral Association, has been in weekly communication with the office of Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) who on March 24 issued one of the country’s strongest lockdown orders. Originally set to expire in mid-April, that order has now been extended through April 30. As a result, “the retail floral business is shut down in Michigan until May 1, 2020,” Crittenden said. “This is having a trickle-down effect through the supply chain to wholesalers and growers.”
In a series of letters sent to Whitmer’s office, Crittenden has sought to make the case that Michigan florists can comply with CDC standards and safely utilize e-commerce and contact-free delivery — and that flowers and plant sales play an important role in the state’s economy and the emotional wellbeing of its population. In his most recent letter, on April 14, Crittenden also made the case for florists to be allowed to offer some services specifically for Mother’s Day.
“Our society needs the ability to have a safe and effective way to say Happy Mother’s Day to the millions of moms across our great state,” he wrote. “We understand our need to stay safe, but we also understand the positive impact flowers make on a person’s life. We see it every day. Flowers are needed now more than ever. As your professional florists of Michigan, we are ready to serve and deliver genuine happiness with beautiful professionally designed arrangements. We can do this in a safe, responsible manner, with very low risk, and would appreciate a change in policy.”
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) recently laid out a set of circumstances for the state to lift its COVID-19 restrictions — terms that included continued physical distancing — and described any potential shifts as evolutions rather than dramatic changes: “There is no light switch here. I would argue it is more like a dimmer,” he said.
Jeanne Boes, general manager and chief operations officer for the San Francisco Flower Mart, has seen firsthand just how much variation there can be within California for industry members, both from municipality to municipality and, sometimes, day to day. She used the power of collaboration to help restart the Flower Mart, which will reopen on April 22 with modified services and “very strict social distancing” measures after having been closed since March 18.
“San Francisco and the six counties around the city were among the first in the country to shut down and have had some of the strictest shelter-in-place orders,” Boes said.
Over the past two weeks, Boes, the marketing chairman of CalFlowers, worked with other industry partners including CalFlowers, the California Cut Flower Commission and the California State Floral Association to put together a case for reopening. She also leveraged existing connections in the mayor’s office and among local civic leaders to get their case in front of the governor. On April 9, they received approval. For now services are limited. Customers cannot enter the building but vendors can deliver to vehicles in the parking lot and use the building to receive and process flowers.
“We have three goals: to keep the San Francisco Flower Mart operational, to keep our tenants operational and to keep everyone safe,” Boes said. “In two weeks, we might be able to do more operationally but the news for us is that we will now be able to get flowers out for Mother’s Day.”
Patrick Dahlson, CEO of Mayesh, also has been working through challenges in California. In the last two weeks, the company has been directed by city officials in both San Francisco and Los Angeles to shut down operations in those cities. Since then, they have successfully advocated to reopen with limited operations and in compliance with CDC guidelines, after working directly with local lawmakers and agencies, including mayors’ offices.
“The way the ordinances have been written is so confusing, and that’s a big part of what makes it all so challenging,” said Dahlson. “I think it’s really important for people to work with their local municipalities, to explain how the industry works. Agriculture may be deemed essential, but if you cut off the distribution channel, what good is that? Farms can’t turn off and on like a spigot.”
Mayesh also has been circulating a heartfelt letter, within the industry and on social media, outlining the challenges facing the industry right now, to try to gain support and traction among decision makers. Being able to reopen in those markets is a positive sign — but it’s also a temporary bandage, Dahlson admits, noting that much of Mayesh’s business model is linked directly to the wedding and events market.
“Staying open for me is about keeping the faucet going,” he said. “The longer any of us have to close, the harder it will be to reopen.”
That’s a worry shared by many in the floral industry right now — including those who are technically allowed to continue operations. Unlike Michigan, for example, New Hampshire’s state order specifically defines floral industry businesses as essential operations.
At D.S. Cole Growers in Loudon, New Hampshire, Doug Cole said he shipped “young plants normally all winter, only a few cancellations due to the virus. Now we are about to start the spring season with finished plants for New England. It’s hard to tell how the sales will go.”
The company’s garden center and florist operations are “very slow,” he added, and the business is closing early, at 3 p.m., but the wholesale/greenhouse segment is the business’s focus. “Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire are all allowing garden centers to stay open, which is great for us,” he added. “The question is, how much business with take place?”
In Dover, New Hampshire, Tom Massingham of Garrison Hill Florist, also made note of how neighboring states can play a role in operational decisions. Even though he could operate as an essential business, his main suppliers are in Massachusetts and they have shut down under local orders. Other options, including direct shipping or pick-up from other vendors, involve added cost or time. Added to that are his concerns about the health of his staff and a sense of wanting to be a good citizen in his community: “The government is asking people to stay home, and I think there’s a reason for that,” he said.
For now, the business is closed at least through the end of the state’s stay-at-home order (May 4). That creates a dilemma familiar to lots of florists right now: He could be reopening just days before Mother’s Day.
“I’m really not sure what to expect,” he admitted, “or what we’ll be able to do. Will I be able to get flowers? Will my employees want to come back? Will customers think I’m acting irresponsibly? There are just a lot of questions right now and not many answers.”
SAF will continue to update its state resources page as it becomes aware of local updates. Have a question you want us to try and answer? Please email mwestbrook@safnow.org.
Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management magazine.
