How to Order Flowers to Send to Russia

To send flowers to Russia, choose a bouquet on our site, enter the recipient's city, full address and phone number, pick the delivery time, add a card message and pay online. We deliver across Russia; city delivery costs 500 RUB, and in large cities a bouquet can arrive 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed.

That is the short version. The longer one matters because most failed or late deliveries come down to small details: a missing door code, the wrong time zone, a phone number nobody answers. Below we walk through each step as a florist would explain it to a friend ordering from abroad for the first time.

Step 1: collect the recipient's details first

Before you look at bouquets, get the information the courier will need. In Russia that means the city, street, building number (sometimes with a korpus, a block letter or number), entrance (podyezd), floor, flat number and the intercom or door code. Most Russian homes are flats in large blocks with several entrances, so a street and building number alone is not enough.

You also need the recipient's phone number, ideally a mobile they actually pick up. The courier calls about 15 minutes before arrival, both to check someone is home and to get through the front door. If you are planning a surprise and cannot ask the recipient directly, ask a family member or flatmate for the details.

If the person will be at work, a workplace address is fine; add the company name, building and floor, and if possible the name of a receptionist or colleague who can meet the courier.

Step 2: choose a bouquet that suits Russia

Browse the bouquets catalogue with the recipient and the occasion in mind. Roses are the default for romance and anniversaries, spray chrysanthemums and alstroemeria for mothers, grandmothers and teachers, tulips for International Women's Day on 8 March. Mixed bouquets are a safe choice when you do not know someone's taste.

Two etiquette points matter more in Russia than in most countries. First, give an odd number of stems for any happy occasion: even numbers are associated with funerals. In large bouquets of fifteen or more stems nobody counts, but with three to eleven roses people notice. Second, flowers are expected on birthdays, 8 March and the first day of school, so a missed bouquet on those days is noticed too.

If you cannot decide, a manager on WhatsApp can help you choose, suggest what suits the occasion and send you a photo of the bouquet before it goes out.

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

The dates when Russians expect flowers

Ordering from abroad is easiest when you know the Russian calendar, because several of its flower days differ from those in Western Europe or North America. The biggest is International Women's Day on 8 March, when women of every age, from schoolgirls to grandmothers and colleagues, receive flowers. Demand is enormous in the days before it, so pre-ordering a week or more ahead is sensible; our article on 8 March flower traditions across Russia explains who gets what.

The school year opens on 1 September with the Day of Knowledge, when children bring bouquets to their teachers, and Teacher's Day follows on 5 October. Mother's Day in Russia is the last Sunday of November, not in spring, which catches out many people living abroad. New Year is the main winter holiday; flowers are less central than at 8 March but a festive bouquet delivered on 31 December is a memorable surprise.

Birthdays, of course, are the most common reason of all. In Russia it is considered bad luck to congratulate someone before their birthday, so aim for the day itself rather than the day before. Pre-ordering with a morning window is the simplest way to get this right from a different time zone.

Step 3: pick the delivery time, and mind the time zone

You have four ways to time a delivery. Express delivery in large cities brings the bouquet 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed. An exact time means the courier arrives within 30 minutes either side of the hour you choose. Time windows of 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21 suit recipients who will be home for part of the day. And for planned occasions you can pre-order 1-30 days ahead.

Russia covers eleven time zones, and every time you select refers to the recipient's local time, not yours. A 09-12 window in Vladivostok is seven hours ahead of Moscow and many more ahead of London or New York. When the date matters, such as a birthday, pre-order a few days in advance and pick a morning window so the flowers arrive before the day gets busy.

Delivery within a city costs 500 RUB. For remote districts and suburbs the operator confirms the price when confirming the order, so you know the full cost before delivery.

Step 4: write the card and decide on anonymity

The card with your text is free. Keep it short, two or three sentences, and personal. English is fine; if you want to add a Russian touch, phrases written in Latin letters such as "S dnyom rozhdeniya" (happy birthday) or "S lyubovyu" (with love) are always appreciated.

Delivery is anonymous by default: the courier does not say who sent the flowers. That is ideal for a secret admirer, but if you want the recipient to know the bouquet is from you, sign the card with your name. Customers forget this more often than you would think.

Step 5: pay and follow the order

Payment is online on the site, by bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay. All delivery and payment terms are collected on the delivery and payment page, which is worth a quick read before your first order.

After you pay, the order is confirmed and the timing counts from that moment. On the day, the courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arrival. If nobody is home, we agree a second delivery the same day or hand the bouquet to a neighbour or concierge, but only with your consent. Our guide on tracking a flower order in Russia explains what to expect between payment and delivery.

If you want to change the time, double-check the address or adjust the card text after ordering, message a manager on WhatsApp and we will agree the details there.

After delivery: helping the flowers last

A bouquet can last a week or two if the recipient gives it five minutes of attention. Trim the stems at an angle by 2-3 cm, remove leaves below the waterline and put the flowers in cool, clean water. Change the water every two days and trim again.

From October to spring, Russian flats are heated hard and the air is dry. Ask the recipient to keep the vase away from radiators and sunny windowsills; that one step can add several days to the bouquet's life.