There's A Good Chance Your Valentine's Flowers Come From Colombia

If you send a bouquet of roses for Valentine's Day, chances are they were grown in Colombia. It remains the No. 1 supplier of flowers to the U.S. even though the coronavirus pandemic at one point threatened to wilt the industry.

"It's been a roller coaster," said José Restrepo, co-owner and general manager of the Ayurá flower farm, located just north of Bogotá in the Andean mountain town of Tocancipá.

As Restrepo spoke, workers wearing face masks and rubber gloves rushed to clip, sort and box roses ahead of Sunday's romantic holiday that accounts for one-third of Ayurá's annual sales.

The farm's commercial manager, Claudia Fuentes, said customers can choose from a rainbow of hues — 35 when it comes to roses and more than 60 for carnations.

"For Valentine's Day the favorite color is red, but hot pink is second," she said while strolling through one of the greenhouses. "We have light pink, hot pink, medium pink ... red, yellow, white, lavender."