Flowers

There are usually three major sources of fresh flowers for retail florists: local growers, local wholesalers and flower auctions. The majority of these are supplied by specialist horticultural and cut flower suppliers.
Internationally there are hundreds of wholesale flower markets and auctions, the largest of which is located in Holland Other major markets include the fledgling Dubai Flower Center and the Ota Flower Market in Tokyo, Japan.
Within North America, Miami is considered to be the main distribution point for imported fresh flowers. Many local wholesalers purchase fresh flower stock from importers in Miami to resale to local florist in their areas. Wholesale flower districts are present in many North American cities such as New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Carlsbad, California. Flower auctions are run using the Dutch clock system and are mainly located in Canada: Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.