28 paid test orders since February 2021
Orders tested by 
Briana Yablonski (Full Profile)Contributing EditorCredentialsBS in Plant Sciences , focus on agroecology Modern FarmerFlower farmer , Creekside Flower Farm, since 2024 Creekside Flower FarmFounder , Under Foot Farm, a market garden, since 2019 Under Foot FarmWriting for Petal Republic since 2021 · 98 articlesExpertisePlant sciences, Agroecology, Market gardeningPublished InModern Farmer, Gardener's Path, HuffPostFull ProfileEmail BrianaOur Editorial Code, 
Larissa Runkle (Full Profile)Contributing EditorCredentialsWriter , gardener and herbalist in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado larissarunkle.comOver a decade as a personal finance and real estate writer larissarunkle.comWriting for Petal Republic since 2021 · 29 articlesExpertiseGardening, Hydrangeas, SoilPublished InThe Points Guy, FinanceBuzzFull ProfileEmail LarissaOur Editorial Code, 
Brandy Wells (Full Profile)Contributing EditorCredentialsFlower and houseplant enthusiast , copywriter and marketing strategist, b.wells writing InstagramWriting for Petal Republic since 2021 · 51 articlesExpertiseFlowers, Houseplants, Floral designFull ProfileEmail BrandyOur Editorial Code and 
Andrew Gaumond (Full Profile)Editorial DirectorCredentialsBSc in Plant Sciences , Cornell UniversityFloristry training , École des Fleuristes de ParisFloristry training , Flower School New YorkWriting for Petal Republic since 2021 · 405 articlesExpertiseHorticulture, Floristry, HouseplantsQuoted InHomes & Gardens, Livingetc, Realtor.com, ChromaQueen and 8 morePublished InThompson & MorganFull ProfileEmail AndrewOur Editorial Code. Method, data and edits by James Sinclair, Founder. Updated .
Petal Tested is our in-house process for how we review online florists and flower delivery services: we pay for every order with our own money, a qualified member of our team receives it at home and reviews the flowers from arrival through to day 7, and we score the arrangement and service on 9 key criteria.
We place a paid order, a tester receives and records it, and the scores run through fixed rules to a verdict on a five-point scale. This panel appears on every review with that order's own figures, so you can check the photos against the score. Local florists are rated separately by the Petal Score, out of 10 and from public data.
The verdict
Petal Republic
We pay, at our own checkout
28 orders paid for since February 2021
Standard delivery
To a tester’s home, on a date we choose
Two testers’ homes in 2026
The tester
Photos on arrival, then days 3, 5 and 7
Tester, then editor
Eight criteria from 1 to 5, value from our data
The tester scores 8, we score value
Dated
Every order stays on the page
12 2026 reviews signed off
Eight criteria are scored by the tester on a scale from 1 (lower marks) to 5 (top marks) against written bands, based on their personal experience from start to finish. Testers may give half marks between bands, for example 3.5. Floral design always gets a reason. Longevity follows a fixed band from the tired day: day 8 or later scores 5, day 6 or 7 scores 4, day 4 or 5 scores 3, day 3 scores 2, earlier scores 1. James Sinclair reviews every scorecard as a secondary view and to benchmark value and data against our internal review library.
The tester scores 8We score value
A 5: on the promised day, handed over safely
A 5: every stem fresh, nothing bruised or wilting
A 5: balanced, full and considered from every side
A 5: same flowers, colors and fullness
A 5: none, or a greenery swap that keeps the look
A 5: stems prepared, flower food, blooms opening
A 5: still fresh on day 8 or later
A 5: arrives protected and ready to give
A 5: at least 10% under our median with good flowers, or within 10% of it with excellent ones
We pay for every order ourselves: no free orders, no comped orders, no retailer-given discounts, and a tester never accepts a free replacement. A code any reader can use may be tested and applied. Then the review records the list price, the code, and what we paid.
We choose one of the retailer's own best sellers, in its default size, with standard delivery and at the retailer's typical price rather than its premium end. Each review names the bouquet we bought and where it sat on the retailer's best-sellers page when we checked. We place the order at the retailer's own checkout. Where a message is required, it is one neutral line, never mentioning Petal Republic or a test. As far as the retailer can tell, it is serving an ordinary customer, not a reviewer.
On arrival, the tester notes delivery against the promised day and window, then photographs the box, the card, the flowers unwrapped in daylight, and any damage. On days 3, 5 and 7, the same spot and angle are repeated, and the tester records the day the bouquet first looked tired.
Every photograph of a tested order is our own. The 2026 frames are corrected for brightness and white balance across the whole frame only, so days shot at different times of day compare like with like. Nothing is retouched, removed, or corrected locally. Originals are archived untouched. Each review's gallery notes which frames were corrected. Checkout screenshots are cropped to the line items, the address, card details and order number removed. Product pictures elsewhere come from the retailers' catalogs.
The same spot, four checks
We score value, not the tester. A tester sees only their own bouquet and does not pay for it. We look at two things: what we paid with delivery, after any code a reader could use, and how good the flowers were, the tester's average for freshness, floral design, matched the photo, longevity, and presentation. On-time delivery, substitutions, and flower health and care still count overall, but not in this average. We compare what we paid with the round's middle price: 10% or more under means cheaper, within 10% means about average, and 10% or more over means pricier.
If the tester says it was not worth the price, value scores no more than 3. No marks off for a missing vase; a vase is often a paid extra, so one that comes included is a bonus. Each round's middle price updates as orders land. The 2026 figure is $93.99 across 12 orders. Rule changes apply to every review at once.
How value is scored
| How good the flowers were | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Great4.5 and up | Good3.75 to 4.49 | FairUnder 3.75 |
| Cheaper10% or more under the middle price | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| About averageWithin 10% | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Pricier10% or more over | 4 | 3 | 2 |
A delivery service is scored against the other services in its comparison table and against the price the customer actually paid, never against the standards of an independent artisan florist. Those questions are concrete: did it arrive when promised, was it what the listing showed, what condition was it in, how long did it last, and was it worth the delivered price next to the same money spent elsewhere?
The published score is the plain average of all nine criteria, rounded half up to one decimal place. It is computed from the scores, never typed by hand, and the verdict reads off the ladder at the top of this page.
The headline score is the latest order scored on the 2026 criteria, never blended with scores from 2021 to 2023, which were one overall number on no fixed criteria. Earlier orders keep their own line. Once a service has two or more 2026 orders, the headline becomes their plain average over the last 18 months, with each order kept in the log. A service we have not ordered from gets no score, and the page says so plainly. Every review names the tester and the order date and shows the photographs.
This page covers specialist online and national delivery services, which we judge through paid, hands-on test orders. Local florists and flower shops are assessed differently, using the Petal Score.
Each service is judged on one order per round: one bouquet in its default size, one tester, one address. Several services pass the order to a local florist near the recipient, so the florist who makes your bouquet may differ from ours. The 2026 orders were delivered in October 2026, not at a holiday peak like Valentine's Day or Mother's Day. Value is scored against one round's median, so it compares services in that round, not across years. The method gives a dated, photographed, paid order a reader can check.
The testers below receive and score our orders at home. James Sinclair reviews every scorecard, works out value and the medians, and signs off each review.
Tests and scores for us
Contributing Editor · Flower farmer, grower and flower delivery tester
Briana Yablonski is a Contributing Editor at Petal Republic who covers houseplants and flowers. She is the flower farmer at Creekside Flower Farm.
Tests and scores for us
Contributing Editor · Writer, gardener and flower delivery tester
Larissa Runkle writes flower delivery guides, shrub care, and cut flower features for Petal Republic from the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.
Tested for us, 2021 to 2023
Contributing Editor · Writer and flower delivery tester
Brandy Wells is a contributing editor at Petal Republic. She writes about flowers, houseplants, floral design, and flower delivery services in the US and UK.
Tested for us, 2021 to 2023
Editorial Director · Horticulturist and Editorial Director at Petal Republic
Andrew Gaumond is a Cornell plant sciences graduate who trained in floristry in Paris and New York. He writes about flowers and houseplants for Petal Republic.
Reviewed and edited by
Founder, Petal Republic
We have paid for every one of the 28 test orders on record, across 15 retailers since February 2021, received by four testers and delivered in the US, the UK and France. Orders from the 2026 round carry the nine criteria. Earlier ones keep their original score, marked as such. A 2026 row reads "Scorecard due" until its review is signed off.
| Retailer | Score | Delivered | Tester | What we ordered | What we paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 2026 round, scored on the nine criteria | |||||
| BloomNation | 4.1 / 5 | October 27, 2026 | Briana Yablonski | The Brambled, All Pink Flower Basket, Standard, by a local florist | $128.00 |
| Roses Only | 4.8 / 5 | October 27, 2026 | Briana Yablonski | Red Roses, Box of 12 | $109.99 |
| BloomsyBox | 4.9 / 5 | October 27, 2026 | Larissa Runkle | Royalty, 24 stems | $93.27 |
| Floom | 4.8 / 5 | October 16, 2026 | Larissa Runkle | Mumma Mia! Hand-Tied by Rachel Cho | $94.99 |
| The Bouqs | 4.9 / 5 | October 16, 2026 | Larissa Runkle | Strawberry Sunset, Deluxe | $94.71 |
| ProFlowers | 4.1 / 5 | October 15, 2026 | Briana Yablonski | Botanical Dream Bouquet, Deluxe | $77.56 |
| Ode à la Rose | 4.2 / 5 | October 15, 2026 | Briana Yablonski | Felice, 20 stems | $102.40 |
| Teleflora | 4.4 / 5 | October 7, 2026 | Briana Yablonski | Radiant Reverie Bouquet, Deluxe | $82.19 |
| 1-800-Flowers | 3.9 / 5 | October 27, 2026 | Larissa Runkle | Floral Embrace, Medium, made by a local florist | $78.93 |
| From You Flowers | 4.3 / 5 | October 7, 2026 | Briana Yablonski | Fall Fragrance Bouquet, Deluxe | $70.98 |
| UrbanStems | 4.4 / 5 | October 6, 2026 | Larissa Runkle | The Good Vibes | $98.78 |
| FTD | 3.9 / 5 | October 6, 2026 | Larissa Runkle | Sweet & Pretty Bouquet, Deluxe | $77.60 |
| Before 2026: the tester’s original overall score | |||||
| Floom (UK) | 4.5 / 5 | July 6, 2023 | Brandy Wells | The Zoe; a dozen pink roses | £30 to £50 each, £6.99 delivery |
| Appleyard London (UK) | 4.4 / 5 | July 5, 2023 | Brandy Wells | Candy Clouds arrangement | From £64.99, plus delivery |
| Bloom & Wild (UK) | 4.7 / 5 | July 4, 2023 | Brandy Wells | The Davi; a Florist's Pick peony bouquet | Not recorded |
| Flowerbx (France) | 4.6 / 5 | May 12, 2023 | Andrew Gaumond | Peonies, snapdragons and roses | From $80 to $120 each |
| 1-800-Flowers | 4.5 / 5 | February 21, 2023 | Larissa Runkle | Assorted Roses & Peruvian Lilies; Nature in Bloom, made by a local florist | Not recorded |
| The Bouqs | Not scored | February 3, 2023 | Larissa Runkle | Deluxe Cotton Candy; Original Strawberry Sunset | Not recorded |
| UrbanStems | Not scored | October 5, 2022 | Andrew Gaumond | Rose and alstroemeria bouquet | Not recorded |
| Ode à la Rose | Not scored | October 5, 2022 | Andrew Gaumond | Rose, carnation and alstroemeria bouquet | Not recorded |
| Roses Only | 4.3 / 5 | February 2022 | Brandy Wells | 18 long-stemmed red roses | $109 plus $25 delivery |
| ProFlowers | 4.3 / 5 | Early 2022 | Brandy Wells | Beautiful Spirit Basket; Mixed Roses | About $60 to $90 for both |
| Teleflora | 4.5 / 5 | December 2021 | Briana Yablonski | Enduring Passion Bouquet; Sweet Tranquility Basket | Not recorded |
| From You Flowers | 4 / 5 | December 14, 2021 | Briana Yablonski | Three arrangements | $40 to $65 each |
| The Bouqs | 4.4 / 5 | Winter 2021 | Brandy Wells | Yours Truly; Scarlet Rouge | Not recorded |
| Ode à la Rose | 4.5 / 5 | November 2021 | Briana Yablonski | Monique bouquet; Tilda, a dozen roses | $82 and $112 |
| UrbanStems | 4.5 / 5 | July 2021 | Andrew Gaumond | The Manor, The Prism, Double the Nina | $65, $80 and $130 |
| BloomsyBox | 4.7 / 5 | Early 2021 | Andrew Gaumond | Pink Cupcake Premium; Rainforest Sunrise | $126.95 |
Straight answers to how we test national flower delivery services and how the score is reached.
We place a paid order at the retailer's checkout and send it to a tester's home. The tester checks delivery against the promised window, photographs the box, card and flowers in daylight, then repeats the same shot on days 3, 5 and 7 (day 1 is delivery) and records the day the flowers first looked tired. Eight criteria are scored from what the tester saw.
No. We pay for every order ourselves. No free orders, no comped orders, no retailer-given discounts, and no tester accepts a free replacement. A code any reader can use may be tested and applied, and the page records the list price, the code and what we paid.
The two contributing editors named in the cards above receive and score the 2026 orders. Earlier rounds were tested by other members of our team. James Sinclair, our founder, reviews every scorecard against the photographs and notes.
The tester scores eight criteria, each from 1 to 5, backed by what the tester saw. We score the ninth, value for money, from the delivered price against the round's median and what arrived. The nine scores are averaged and rounded half up to one decimal place.
Scorecard due means the order has been received but the tester's scores and the review's sign-off are not yet in. A 2026 order shows it until the tester's scores are in and James Sinclair has reviewed and signed off the review. Then the score appears in the ledger.
No. Petal Tested covers national delivery services we order from, scored out of 5. The Petal Score covers local florists, from public data, out of 10, and we never order from local florists for it.
Every price, fee, cut-off time and code on the site carries the date it was checked, and a ZIP code wherever the number depends on where the order is delivered. An undated price is not published, because a price from last season is not a price you can count on at checkout. Where a retailer provides a product feed through its affiliate network, our systems pull live prices and catalogs. Where there is no feed, prices are captured by hand, dated, and the page says which method applies.
We verify a code by loading the same cart with it and without it, and recording both totals and the line items. A code that passes is listed with its date. Any code that stops working is removed the same day. Codes we have not tested are never shown.
Delivered price means the product price plus the delivery fee a real cart paid on that order. Our florist hub ranks retailers by their cheapest best seller, delivered. Commission plays no part in the order. Retailers with no tested cart are listed last, unranked.
AI tools help us synthesize research, check data and pricing, assess availability, monitor customer reviews and feedback, and catch new coupons and offers. Drafting tools are used under editorial control, and drafts may be written with support from AI tools before James Sinclair, our founder, reviews, edits, and signs off every editorial piece with a date. AI does not receive, test or score flowers. Orders are hand-tested in person and paid for with our own money, and the photographs of tested orders are our own.
James Sinclair, our founder, reviews every editorial piece and signs it off with a date before it publishes. Nothing publishes or changes without that sign-off. Read the full policy in the editorial code.
Retailers cannot pay to be included in our coverage, cannot pay to be ranked higher in a comparison table, and cannot pay to change a score or a verdict. We accept no paid placement and no gifts or incentives in exchange for coverage. Commission never sets the order.
Links to retailers pass through our own address so we can count clicks and reconcile commission. That affiliate relationship is disclosed on every page that carries it, with the details in our affiliate disclosure.
