If your valentine told you flowers are too expensive this year, unfortunately, they may be right.Local florists are facing a perfect storm of challenges that have driven up the cost of Valentine's Day blooms by as much as 15%.La Toya Rodriguez, owner of Rose Soiree, says recent cold weather completely froze over local farms she sources from."Lost entire crops that they were expecting to sell for Valentine's Day," Rodriguez said.When local sources fail, florists must outsource to other places, even other countries. But with imports come tariffs, driving prices even higher."75% of the world's roses are grown in South America. So now we have to pay for imports and tariffs to get those goods to the U.S.," Rodriguez said.Those tariffs forced Rodriguez to raise her prices by 15%. What once cost $100 may now cost closer to $115."My price is 15% higher. I'm not taking that home at the end of the day," Rodriguez said.Instead of pushing full bouquets, she tries to help customers stay within their budget by offering alternatives."I'm encouraging my customers to mix in a few roses," Rodriguez said.Rodriguez calls Valentine's Day the "Super Bowl" for florists, as it's crucial for their annual revenue."This one week of sales sustains my business for about three months," Rodriguez said.But with all these added setbacks, she's seen her sales drop in half compared to last year."I was prepared for a decrease but I wasn't prepared for that much of a decrease," Rodriguez said.Despite the challenges, Rodriguez shared a simple message for this Valentine's Day."I think the world is so heavy right now. Buy the flowers, tell people that you love them," Rodriguez said.Rodriguez says she's still taking Valentine's Day orders through February 11 and encourages customers to shop local.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App. Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today! ...read more read less