What’s the etiquette for sending flowers to a colleague who’s leaving the company?

Sending flowers to a colleague who’s leaving the company is appropriate when the gesture suits your relationship and the circumstances of their departure. Choose a manageable bouquet, keep the message warm and professional, and arrange the handover before they finish work. For a team gift, include everyone who wishes to contribute and identify the senders on the card.

The most thoughtful choice depends on whether your colleague is celebrating a new role, retiring or leaving under difficult circumstances. Someone who enjoys public recognition may welcome flowers at a farewell gathering; someone facing an unexpected departure may prefer a quiet gesture. If you are sending from abroad to Russia, check their final working day and where they will actually be before arranging delivery.

Match the gesture to the circumstances

For a planned move to another role, flowers can express thanks and good wishes without making the farewell overly personal. Refer to something you genuinely valued: their patient explanations, reliable support or contribution to a shared project. You do not need to describe their next job, especially if they have not announced it publicly.

Retirement can suit a more personal message if you know the recipient well, but avoid assumptions about age, health or family plans. If the departure follows redundancy, illness or conflict, ask privately whether flowers would be welcome. A restrained note of appreciation usually fits better than a celebratory message about exciting opportunities.

Check workplace gift rules and existing farewell plans before organising anything. A second presentation can put the recipient in an awkward position, particularly if other colleagues received smaller gestures. If your relationship has mostly been professional, a modest team bouquet is often easier to receive than an elaborate individual gift.

Choose flowers that feel professional and are easy to carry

Start with the recipient’s known preferences, then consider where the bouquet will go after work. A compact, neatly wrapped arrangement is easier to carry alongside a laptop bag and farewell gifts than a wide bouquet with long, projecting stems. If they commute or are clearing their desk that day, portability deserves as much attention as colour.

Tulips, chrysanthemums, roses and mixed seasonal flowers can all work for a professional farewell; the overall design matters more than a single supposed flower meaning. A tightly focused red-rose bouquet may suggest romance, so use it only when you know it matches the recipient’s taste. Mixed colours can make the gesture feel more broadly appreciative.

For a recipient in Russia, choose an odd number when sending a small bouquet of individually countable stems: even numbers are traditionally associated with mourning. Avoid heavily scented flowers if you do not know whether fragrance is welcome in their office. Our guide to Russian bouquet size etiquette explains the counting convention in more detail.

Bouquets we can deliver

Bouquet of 1 yellow sunflowers

$13

Bouquet of 1 white lilies

$19

Bouquet of 1 pink lilies

$19

Bouquet of 3 gerberas mix

$21

Handle team contributions and the card thoughtfully

If you are collecting for a team gift, make contributions voluntary and keep individual amounts private. Agree the spending limit before choosing the bouquet, then nominate one person to organise the order and collect the wording. This helps prevent duplicate orders and stops the recipient’s last afternoon becoming a series of competing presentations.

Keep a team card specific enough to feel sincere but broad enough for everyone signing it. For example: “Thank you for your patience, practical advice and all your work with the team. We’ve really enjoyed working with you and wish you every success in your next chapter.” Adjust the wording to reflect what you actually know about their plans.

An individual message can be shorter: “Thank you for always making time to help me settle in. I’ve learned a lot from working with you, and I wish you all the best.” Avoid salary references, office grievances, private jokes that may embarrass them and requests for future favours. Sign your name clearly so the flowers do not become a guessing game.

Plan the handover around their actual last day

Confirm the date with someone who knows their schedule; an employment end date may differ from their final day in the office. Check whether they will be working remotely, attending meetings or leaving early. Aim for a handover with enough time to read the card and put the stems in water, without requiring them to wait after their farewell.

Office delivery works well when the recipient expects a public farewell and the building can receive flowers. Home delivery may suit a remote colleague or a private departure, but use a home address only with their permission. If you are unsure, ask where receiving a farewell gift would be convenient without disclosing every detail of the bouquet.

For delivery in Russia, give the recipient’s local date and time when agreeing the arrangements. Turboflora offers time windows of 09–12, 12–15, 15–18 and 18–21, or delivery at an exact time with a tolerance of ±30 minutes. Allow room around a presentation or departure: a scheduled delivery should not depend on catching someone in their final few minutes.

Arrange flowers to Russia from abroad

You can start with the bouquets catalogue, then contact a manager on WhatsApp for help choosing the bouquet and agreeing the address, timing and card text. Have the recipient’s name, telephone number, delivery address and final working-day schedule ready. You can also arrange a photo of the bouquet before delivery.

We deliver flowers across Russia. City delivery costs 500 RUB; for remote districts and suburbs, the operator confirms the price when confirming the order. Express delivery in large cities is available within 1–2 hours after order confirmation, and you can pre-order 1–30 days ahead. For a fixed farewell date, booking ahead gives you time to settle the details.

A card with your text is free. Delivery is anonymous by default, meaning the courier does not name the sender, so identify yourself or your team in the card if you want your colleague to know who sent it. Online checkout uses CloudPayments; check the payment options displayed there, as acceptance of every foreign card cannot be guaranteed. See delivery and payment for the relevant information.

Make receiving and caring for the bouquet straightforward

The courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arrival, so choose a contact number they are likely to answer that day. If they are absent, we agree either a second delivery the same day or a handover to a neighbour or concierge with the sender’s consent. For an office farewell, clarify access details in advance and avoid relying on an unconfirmed desk-side handover.

Once the bouquet is received, the stems should go into a clean vase with fresh water. Trim the stem ends with a clean, sharp tool and remove any leaves that would sit below the waterline. Follow any flower-food instructions supplied with the bouquet. If the recipient is heading straight home, help them find somewhere suitable to keep the flowers until they leave.

At home, keep the bouquet away from radiators, direct sunlight and ripening fruit. Refresh the water regularly and remove fading flowers or submerged foliage to keep the vase clean. The final courtesy is to let your colleague enjoy the gift without an obligation: a thank-you message or photograph is welcome if they choose to send one, but should never be expected.