Flowers Delivery: A Florist's Guide to Ordering Well

Flowers delivery means a florist makes a fresh bouquet to order and a courier takes it straight to the recipient's door at the time you choose. With Turboflora you can arrange this anywhere in Russia from any country: pick a bouquet online, pay on the site, and the flowers arrive with a free card carrying your words. Delivery within a city costs 500 RUB.

What separates a lovely delivery from a disappointing one is rarely the bouquet itself. It is the details around it: the right flowers for the season, a realistic time slot, a reachable phone number and a few minutes of care once the vase is filled. Here is how to get each of them right.

How a flower delivery actually works, step by step

First you choose a bouquet in the catalogue and add the recipient's address, phone number and card text. You pay online by bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay. The operator then confirms the order; for remote districts and suburbs this is also when the final delivery price is confirmed, since only city delivery has a fixed 500 RUB rate.

Next the bouquet is assembled. A good florist conditions flowers before arranging: stems are recut, they stand in water to hydrate, and damaged outer petals are removed. This step is invisible to you but it is why a well-made bouquet stays fresh for a week rather than three days.

Finally the courier sets off. About 15 minutes before arrival they call the recipient, hand over the flowers and the card, and do not name the sender, because delivery is anonymous by default. If you want a look at the result before it leaves, a manager can send you a photo of the bouquet.

Choosing a delivery time that suits the recipient

In large cities express delivery takes 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, which is useful when you have just remembered a birthday. When the timing matters more than speed, choose an exact time with an accuracy of about 30 minutes, or one of the windows: 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21.

Think about the recipient's day rather than yours. Office workers are easiest to catch at work in the late morning; retired parents are usually home in the morning; for a romantic evening gesture the 18-21 window is the natural fit. If you are abroad, remember the time difference: Russia covers eleven time zones, and the window is always the recipient's local time.

For dates you know in advance, pre-order 1-30 days ahead. On peak days such as 8 March, 14 February or 1 September demand jumps sharply, and a pre-order is the most reliable way to have the bouquet arrive in the morning rather than late in the day.

Bouquets we can deliver

Bouquet of 1 yellow sunflowers

$12

Bouquet of 3 red gerberas

$20

Bouquet of 3 white matthiola

$22

Bouquet of 3 pink matthiola

$22

Flowers that handle delivery well in every season

Some flowers simply travel better. Spray roses, chrysanthemums, alstroemeria, carnations and eucalyptus are sturdy, hold water well and look fresh after a long courier route. Hydrangeas, sweet peas and some garden roses are gorgeous but sensitive; they are best for short distances and for recipients who will put them in water straight away.

Season changes the picture. In a Russian winter, frost of minus fifteen can damage petals in a few minutes, so winter bouquets need several layers of wrapping and as little time outdoors as possible, and it is wise to choose a time window when someone is definitely at home rather than leaving the flowers waiting. In summer, heat is the enemy: a bouquet with a water reserve and hardy stems copes far better on a hot afternoon.

Spring is the moment for tulips, which keep growing in the vase and gently bend towards the light. Early summer belongs to peonies: order them in tight bud and they will open over two or three days, which makes the gift last longer than a fully open bouquet.

What to write on the card

The card is free and it is often the part people keep after the flowers fade, so give it more than a moment. Two or three warm sentences beat a long paragraph. Mention the occasion, say something specific about the person, and sign it unless you want the bouquet to stay a mystery.

If the recipient's first language is Russian, a short line in Russian means a great deal, even if the rest is in English. Simple phrases work best: "S dnyom rozhdeniya!" for a birthday, or "Lyublyu i skuchayu" (I love and miss you). Write them out for the manager in Latin letters if you cannot type the alphabet, and ask for them to be written correctly.

For sympathy flowers keep it brief and gentle, and for business recipients keep it neutral: name, company and a clear reason, such as thanks for a completed project.

Flower etiquette by occasion

For birthdays and anniversaries, bright mixed bouquets and roses are always safe. For a colleague or a teacher, choose something elegant and moderate in size; an enormous bouquet can embarrass people in a workplace. For a new mother, pick lightly scented flowers, since strong lilies or hyacinths can be overwhelming in a small room with a baby.

In Russia, flowers for a living person have an odd number of stems; even numbers are kept for funerals. This matters most for small bouquets, roughly up to fifteen stems, and older people pay more attention to it. Red carnations are linked with Victory Day and memorials, so they are the classic gift for veterans but not for a romantic date.

Men receive flowers more often than many people think: on a jubilee birthday, after a performance or for a professional success. Darker, structured bouquets with roses, chrysanthemums or greenery and without pastel ribbons fit best.

When the bouquet arrives: reception and care

If the recipient is out when the courier calls, we agree a second delivery the same day or, with the sender's consent, leave the flowers with a neighbour or concierge. To make that unlikely, give a phone number that will be switched on, and tell a family member if the surprise is planned for a specific hour.

Care starts within the first hour. Unwrap the bouquet, trim the stems by 1-2 cm at an angle, remove leaves that would sit underwater and place it in clean, cool water. Change the water every one or two days and trim again each time; this alone can add several days of life.

Keep the vase away from radiators, direct sun and fruit bowls. Questions about choosing, timing or the card are easiest to settle with a manager on WhatsApp, and the full terms are on the delivery and payment page. For examples from specific towns, see our notes on flower delivery in Elektrostal.