A global flower shortage sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a lot of sleepless nights for Bonnie Brae Flowers Inc. owner Jim Gobert.

Whether it was worrying about whether a shipment would come, bring the correct amount of product or right colors, it’s been difficult since March 2020.

But despite the shortages of house plants, perennials, trees and shrubs, Bonnie Brae still has enough for everyone to get their mother something extra special.

“We’re in good shape, we really are,” Gobert said.

Most of the issues that caused the shortage stemmed from the pandemic as travel and transportation was restricted, while Latin America had a subpar growing season. 

Even though the three nurseries that spoke with The Denver Gazette said they are well off in-terms of inventory, two of the three officials said they have never experienced a shortage like now. 

“I’ve been here 15 years and I’ve never seen this kind of environment,” said Candace Wickstrom, the manager of the City Floral Garden Center. “

Because of the shortage, prices of Mother’s Day favorites have increased 2 to 5% due to the additional costs to receive each shipment, both Gobert and Wickstrom said.

“A lot of (the rise in cost) is from the production and because we’re paying much more for the freight to even get it here,” Gobert said. “But we’re all in the same boat.”

As a result of the shortage, officials said that consumers have been coming in and buying and ordering products ahead of time, which has helped with making orders and keeping inventory stocked. 

However, even though many of the COVID-19 restrictions are beginning to loosen as more the countries population gets vaccinated, this shortage could be around for quite awhile.

“I think we will still see supply change shortages into next year, and my hope is after that we’ll be back to normal,” Wickstrom said. “But this is defiantly more than a one year event for certain crops that take longer to grow.”

But luckily for Bonnie Brae, City Floral Garden Center and the University Hill’s Ace Hardware, they’ll all still have enough in stock for what is annually the busiest weekend of the year.

But they might not have exactly what you are looking for.

“People come in wanting a specific plant, and because we’ve been having people shop earlier mixed with the shortage, we might not have every specific type of flower, but we will sure have others to choose from,” Wickstrom said.