RALEIGH, N.C. – Red roses might be a simple gift for Valentine’s Day, but they’ve never been cheap.

Last year, the average price for a dozen roses arranged in a vase or container was $74, according to the Society of American Florists.

But increasing competition from grocery and discount stores is resulting in some eye-popping low prices at a time when the fragrant flowers are typically at their most expensive.

For the fifth straight year, Whole Foods is offering two dozen roses for $19.99 – a price that some other stores charge for a dozen.

The store can offer the low price because of the volume of flowers it orders and the fact that the bunches of flowers have no frills, spokeswoman Teresa Jones said.

It’s an extra $8 if you want the flowers arranged in a bouquet with greenery and babies’ breath.

The chain is hoping that the steep discount will attract new customers.

“People will come in for roses who normally wouldn’t think of Whole Foods Market as someplace to go for such a bargain,” Jones said.

Jones said she didn’t know the profit margin on the Whole Foods deal, but other florists said it can’t be much.

“It’s almost used as a loss-leader to get folks into the store,” said Steve Taras, owner of Raleigh’s Watered Garden Florist. “You know you’re going to get them to buy a box of candy or a cookie before they leave the store.”

Price matters a lot to frugal shoppers such as Bob Levine of Raleigh.

He said the cheapest roses he knew of were $12.99 a dozen at a florist near his home. But he said he always expects prices to rise around Valentine’s Day.

“Obviously the stores are going to try to get a maximum profit,” he said. “It’s just like the airlines. If you want to travel Christmas week, you’re going to pay the top fare.”

Such price-conscious shoppers are more likely to go to grocery stores offering bargains, which will put the squeeze on independent florists.

“We can’t go and buy roses on a wholesale market for what a grocery store is selling them for,” Taras said.

The competition is getting tougher as other stores jump in, using the cutthroat pricing approach that is a hallmark of the grocery business.

At Fallons Creative Flowers of Raleigh, a dozen roses with greenery and baby’s breath will cost $16.95 for Valentine’s Day, manager Frank Campisi said. The regular price for that same dozen is $9.95.

Campisi said the bump in the retail price happens because farmers and wholesalers raise their prices during holidays.

Despite the increase in Campisi’s expenses to get the flowers, he offers the lower-cost option because he is mindful of grocery-store bargains.

But he said he offers a range of options for people looking for more than a simple bunch of flowers. If you want a more professional arrangement from Fallons, the price climbs. Florists are quick to point out that you’re paying for the vase, the labor involved in arranging the flowers and, most likely, delivery.

“There’s something glamorous and a little bit Hollywood about that, rather than being handed some flowers in cellophane,” said Kathy Herdrich, who, along with Taras, owns the teaching studio Art of Flowers in Raleigh.

Of course, paying more for flowers doesn’t guarantee delivery. If you want your flowers delivered, order now.

Campisi expects to have 40 drivers making 1,000 deliveries on Valentine’s Day. He has already taken more than 100 orders.

If you wait too long, Jennifer Sparks of the Society of American Florists offers this advice: “Do it the day before, and tell her you couldn’t wait until Valentine’s Day to tell her you love her.”

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(c) 2007, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.).

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ARCHIVE ILLUSTRATION on MCT Direct (from MCT Illustration Bank, 202-383-6064): giving roses

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