Russian Winter Flowers: A Florist's Guide to What to Send from December to February

Russian winter flowers are, in practice, the flowers that survive frost on the street and dry radiator heat indoors: roses, spray chrysanthemums, carnations, alstroemeria and, from January, tulips and hyacinths, often combined with spruce or fir branches, eucalyptus, cotton stems and red berries. Nothing blooms outdoors in most of Russia between December and March, so every winter bouquet is a cut-flower bouquet, and the choice depends on how well a variety copes with the cold walk from the van to the front door.

If you are abroad and want to send something to a mother, a friend or a partner in Russia this winter, this guide explains which flowers look right in the season, what they mean to Russian recipients, how to keep them alive in a hot apartment and how to time an order around the long holidays.

What actually blooms in a Russian winter

Outdoors, almost nothing. From December to late February the ground in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan or Yekaterinburg is under snow, and the first wild flowers, such as coltsfoot and the woodland scilla that Russians call 'snowdrops', appear only in late March or April. When people search for Russian winter flowers, they usually mean one of two things: the flowers that Russians buy and give in winter, or the plants that carry a winter mood, such as conifers, berries and dried stems.

Indoors, the season has its own heroes. Amaryllis (hippeastrum) is the classic flower of a Russian December window, often grown from a bulb and given as a pot or as long cut stems. Hyacinths and paperwhite narcissi are forced for the New Year table, and the poinsettia, called the 'Christmas star' in Russian, is sold everywhere before the holidays. Cyclamen and Kalanchoe are the other two winter pot plants you will see in almost every flat.

For bouquets, the backbone is the same as the rest of the year, roses and chrysanthemums, but the styling shifts. Florists add Nordmann fir or blue spruce, eucalyptus, ilex or hypericum berries, cotton bolls, pine cones and sometimes a little silver. Tulips arrive in quantity from January and build up to their peak before March 8, which is the real start of the spring flower season in Russia.

The flowers that survive frost and a heated flat

A Russian winter bouquet has two enemies: minus fifteen outside and plus twenty-five with very dry air inside. The hardiest choices are spray chrysanthemums, carnations and alstroemeria, which shrug off both and routinely last two weeks or more. Garden-style roses with firm, thick petals, such as many red and white varieties, also cope well if the bouquet is wrapped properly.

More delicate flowers need more care. Hydrangeas wilt quickly in dry heat unless the heads are misted, and hellebores and anemones are lovely but short-lived in a warm room. Tulips keep growing in the vase and bend towards the light, which many Russian recipients actually like, but they need cool water and a spot away from radiators. Ranunculus and peonies, available in winter as imported flowers, are beautiful and expensive-looking, yet they open fast in a heated room.

Greenery is where winter bouquets earn their reputation. Fir and spruce branches stay fresh for weeks, smell of the holidays and hide any tired leaf. Eucalyptus dries gracefully instead of wilting, and berries and cotton add texture that lasts after the flowers are gone. If longevity matters most to you, ask for a composition with a high share of greenery and chrysanthemums.

Bouquets we can deliver

Bouquet of 1 yellow sunflowers

$13

Bouquet of 3 white roses with eucalyptus, 50 cm

$18

Bouquet of 3 red roses with eucalyptus, 50 cm

$18

Bouquet of 3 pink roses with eucalyptus, 50 cm

$18

Meanings and etiquette Russians still follow in winter

Russian flower etiquette does not relax in winter. A bouquet for a living person has an odd number of stems; even numbers are for funerals and graves. With large bouquets of 15 or more stems, most people no longer count, but for a small gift of three, five or seven roses the rule is noticed, especially by older relatives.

Colour carries meaning too. Red roses are about love and are fine for a partner or a wife, while white and cream flowers suit a mother, a teacher or a New Year greeting. Yellow used to mean separation in older Russian folklore; younger people ignore it, but if the recipient is a grandmother, choose something warmer, such as peach or pink. Carnations, especially red ones, are strongly linked to Soviet holidays and memorial days, so they are better as part of a mixed bouquet than on their own.

Winter also has its own occasions. Tatiana's Day on January 25 is the name day of everyone called Tatiana and a student holiday, Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23 is for men, and Old New Year on January 13 is a quiet family evening. A small seasonal bouquet with fir and berries suits all three without looking like an over-the-top gesture.

How a bouquet gets through the cold to the door

Cold damage happens fast: a few minutes of open air at minus ten is enough to turn rose petals translucent. That is why winter bouquets travel in several layers of wrapping, often with an extra outer layer of paper or film, and spend as little time outside as possible. You can read more about this in our article on flower delivery in winter Russia.

Two of our delivery rules make winter easier. The courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arrival, so nobody waits on the street or at a locked door with flowers in the frost. If the recipient is not at home, we agree a second delivery the same day or hand the bouquet to a neighbour or a concierge, but only with your consent. In large cities, express delivery takes 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, which keeps the time the flowers spend in transit short.

Advise the recipient not to unwrap the bouquet in the doorway. The best routine is to bring it into the flat, let it sit wrapped for 15-20 minutes so the temperature evens out, and only then remove the paper, recut the stems and put them in cool water.

Keeping winter flowers fresh in a hot Russian apartment

Russian central heating is generous, and the air in a flat in January is often drier than in a desert. Place the vase as far from radiators as possible; the coolest spot in the room, a windowsill without a radiator below it or a hallway table, can add several days to the life of the bouquet. Avoid a draughty window that is opened for airing, because a blast of frosty air will damage petals just as quickly as heat.

Change the water every day or two and trim a centimetre off the stems at an angle each time. Remove any leaves below the waterline. Roses and chrysanthemums appreciate a light misting of the leaves in dry air, while tulips do best in a shallow amount of very cold water. Our guide on keeping flowers fresh in a heated Russian apartment goes into more detail.

When the flowers fade, the greenery can stay. Fir, eucalyptus and cotton make a second, smaller arrangement that will keep the winter mood on a table for another week or two.

Ordering winter flowers to Russia from abroad

Plan around the holidays. Russia closes for the long New Year break from January 1 to roughly January 8, and demand peaks on December 31 and around March 8. You can pre-order 1-30 days ahead, choose an exact time within plus or minus 30 minutes, or pick a time window: 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21. For New Year, our guide to Christmas and New Year flowers in Russia lists what to send and when.

Choose a bouquet in the bouquets catalogue, add the recipient's address and phone number and write the text for the card, which is free. Delivery within a city costs 500 RUB; for remote districts and suburbs, the operator confirms the price when confirming the order. Delivery is anonymous by default, so the courier will not name you unless your card does. You can pay online on the site by bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay.

If you want winter greenery added, need help with the card text in Russian or would like to see a photo of the bouquet before it leaves, write to a manager on WhatsApp and agree the details there. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.