How to Send Flowers to Moscow: A Florist's Practical Guide

To send flowers to Moscow, choose a bouquet in our catalogue, enter the recipient's address and phone number, pick a delivery time and pay online with a bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay. Delivery within the city costs 500 RUB, and in Moscow we can bring the bouquet 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed or at a time you choose. Your message goes on a free card, and the courier does not name the sender unless you write your name on it.

That is the short answer. The longer one is about getting the details right, because a bouquet sent from another country has no second chance: you will not be there to fix a wrong entrance code or a card that reads oddly. Below, I go through what a florist checks before every Moscow order, which flowers suit which occasion in Russia, how to time delivery across time zones, and what the recipient should do once the bouquet is in their hands.

What you need before you place the order

Moscow is a city of large apartment blocks, gated courtyards and business centres with reception desks, so the address alone is rarely enough. Ask for the full street address with building number, any building section (korpus or stroenie), the entrance number, the floor and the flat. If the building has an intercom code or a barrier at the courtyard, add that to the order notes. These small details are the difference between a courier who rings the right door and one who spends twenty minutes walking around the block.

The recipient's phone number matters just as much. Our courier calls about 15 minutes before arrival, so a working Russian mobile number is the single most useful thing you can give us. If you want the delivery to be a surprise, you do not need to warn the recipient: the call only says that a delivery is on its way, not who it is from.

For an office delivery, include the company name, the floor and the name of the person as it appears on their pass. Many Moscow business centres do not let couriers past the reception desk, so it helps if the recipient knows to come down, or if a colleague can collect the flowers. When in doubt, write to our manager on WhatsApp before ordering and we will agree the address details and the best time with you.

Choosing a bouquet that reads well in Moscow

Russian flower etiquette has a few rules that people abroad often do not know. The most important one: give an odd number of stems. Even numbers are traditionally brought to funerals and graves, so a dozen roses, which is the standard romantic gesture in the UK or the US, can feel wrong to an older Russian recipient. Eleven, fifteen or twenty-five stems is the safe choice. The rule applies to loose stems of the same flower; large mixed bouquets are not counted.

Colour carries meaning too. Red roses are clearly romantic, so they suit a partner, not a colleague or a friend's mother. White and pale pink read as gentle and respectful and work for birthdays, new babies and thank-you gifts. Yellow flowers are loved by younger people, but some of the older generation still associate them with separation, so for a grandmother or a teacher I would choose another colour. Lilies have a strong scent that some people find too heavy in a small flat; tulips, roses, alstroemeria and spray roses are safer choices for a home.

Think about the occasion before the flower. For a birthday or anniversary, a classic rose bouquet or a bright seasonal mix works well. For a mother, a grandmother or a teacher, soft colours and a composed, elegant arrangement are more appropriate than an enormous armful. For congratulations on a new job or a degree, a neat bouquet that is easy to carry on the metro is a practical kindness, since many Muscovites do not drive.

Bouquets we can deliver

Bouquet of 1 yellow sunflowers

$12

Bouquet of 1 pink lilies

$18

Bouquet of 3 red gerberas

$20

Bouquet of 3 red roses, 60 cm

$21

Timing the delivery from another time zone

Moscow is on UTC+3 all year round, with no summer time. That means it is two hours ahead of London in summer and three hours ahead in winter, and seven or eight hours ahead of New York. When you choose a delivery slot, always think in Moscow time. A bouquet booked for the 18-21 window in Moscow will arrive while it is still mid-morning on the US East Coast.

You have several options. Express delivery brings the bouquet 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, which is useful when you have only just remembered a birthday. You can choose an exact time, accurate to about 30 minutes either way, which is ideal for a proposal or for flowers that should arrive just as someone comes home. Or you can pick a time window: 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21. For a birthday, the 09-12 window is a lovely choice, because the flowers become part of the whole day rather than arriving after dinner.

For big dates, order in advance. You can book delivery 1 to 30 days ahead, and I strongly recommend it for 8 March, Valentine's Day, 1 September and the last days of December. On these dates the whole city is buying flowers at once, and an order placed a week before is far calmer for everyone than one placed on the morning itself.

The card: what to write and how anonymity works

Every bouquet comes with a free card carrying your text. Keep it short: a card fits a few lines, and a message that runs to a paragraph is hard to read on a small piece of paper. If the recipient reads Russian better than English, consider writing in Russian, even if it is just a simple phrase such as "S dnyom rozhdeniya!" (happy birthday). A message in their own language feels warmer.

Delivery is anonymous by default: the courier does not say who sent the flowers. If you want to be recognised, sign the card. If you want to stay a mystery, simply leave the signature out, and the recipient will receive the bouquet with no indication of the sender. This works well for secret admirers, but think twice for family occasions: an unsigned bouquet sent to a grandmother may leave her puzzling over it for days.

One more practical point: if the recipient may share the flat with others, address the card by name. It avoids the slightly awkward moment when a flatmate or a relative opens the door and is not sure whom the flowers are for.

When the recipient is not at home

Plans change, and people go out even on their birthday. Because our courier calls about 15 minutes before arrival, most deliveries are arranged on the spot. If the recipient cannot be reached or is away, we agree a second delivery on the same day, or, with your consent, leave the bouquet with a neighbour or the building concierge. Many Moscow apartment buildings have a concierge on the ground floor, which makes the second option practical.

If you want to be sure the flowers look exactly as you imagined, ask for a photo of the bouquet before delivery through WhatsApp. It is the simplest way to see your order when you are thousands of kilometres away, and it gives you a picture to share if the surprise needs to stay secret until the doorbell rings. You can read more about confirmations in our delivery and payment section.

Hospitals deserve a special mention. Many Moscow hospitals restrict flowers in wards, especially in intensive care and maternity units. Before sending a bouquet to a hospital, check with the family whether it will be accepted; often it is kinder to send flowers home for the day of discharge instead.

Helping the bouquet last in a Moscow flat

In winter, Moscow apartments are heated by central radiators and the air is very dry. Flowers fade fastest next to a radiator or on a sunny windowsill, so suggest that the recipient stands the vase in the coolest corner of the room. At night, a bouquet will even appreciate being moved to a cooler hallway.

The first hour after delivery matters most. The stems should be cut by one or two centimetres at an angle with a sharp knife and placed in clean, cool water straight away. Any leaves below the waterline should come off, since they rot and cloud the water. Changing the water every one or two days and trimming the stems again each time will add several days to the life of most bouquets.

In January and February the street temperature can drop well below minus fifteen. If the recipient is collecting flowers outside, they should bring them indoors quickly and let them adjust to room temperature for a few minutes before unwrapping. If you are planning a larger sending strategy, our full guide to sending flowers to Moscow from abroad covers payment and planning in more depth.