Do you sell many roses?
Absolutely; the Russians adore roses. We have two small shops in Saint Petersburg, my son and I. We mostly sell them in mixed bouquets and sometimes as individual flowers. We also use a great many roses for weddings and funerals.

Where do you keep the roses in the shop?
We store the roses in a cold room. Ours is an open shop in a shopping centre and the cold room means that our roses stay fresh longer and the air does not become too damp.

Which colours sell best?
Our customers want soft colours, such as pale pink, green, yellow and creamy white. Red roses are sold at stations, which is why we do not stock them. Only on International Women’s Day when some 20% of our stock is red.

Which roses are your favourites?
Although roses from Ecuador and Columbia are larger I prefer Dutch roses. They are fresher and always open well. We currently sell a great many ‘Avalanche’, ‘F Green’ and ‘Curiosa’. We also stock most of the new varieties from Holland. My personal favourite is ‘Old Dutch’.

Do you have any special wishes?
Yes, I would like to be able to buy shorter stemmed roses. I do not need roses with 1 metre long stems; 60 cm is more than enough for my purposes.

Who would you like to give a rose to?
The female veterans of World War II.


Dyeing and printing
Some roses are dyed. The most popular rose for this purpose is the pale yellow ‘Vendela’, which is stood for a while in water containing a natural dye. Blue is a popular colour and the demand for black roses remains high. The red 'Grand Prix' is generally used for this purpose. When this rose absorbs blue dye, it turns black. A new trend involves colouring or printing individual petals with pictures or text. There are even roses that glow in the dark.

Healthy White Avalanche+ (16207) and yellow Ilios! (16217) in a bowl of green apples.	Overwhelming Gigantic parallel bouquet of floribunda roses Mimi Eden (18927) and Pepita (23980) with skeleton leaves and rhinestone strips at the tie.
Talea+ (23117) Classic rose with large buds and curling petals.	Sweet Avalanche+ (26965) Pale pink beauty with large, well filled buds and few thorns.
Boeing (24384) Snow white rose with high buds.	Calima! (25003) Pale pink, large flowered rose with a green haze and few thorns.
Rimini (26920) Scented, large budded rose that retains its lovely yellow colour throughout flowering.	Prima Donna+ (21715) Faintly scented, peach coloured, tulip shaped rose.