On Oct. 15, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed the California deceptive listings bill, A.B. 1282.

Getting young people to buy flowers, finding good help and growing profits were top among the many challenges cited by more than 60 retailers, wholesalers and growers who gathered Sept. 25, 2007, in Palm Springs, Calif., for a "Leadership Café" hosted by the Society of American Florists (SAF).

Sending online store coupons via e-mail and having plenty of pre-made arrangements on hand are just some of the ways florists prepared for and promoted this week's floral holidays: Boss's Day and Sweetest Day.

Veteran broadcast journalist Chris Wallace is the Kick-Off Breakfast speaker at SAF’s 28th Annual Congressional Action Days, Feb. 25-26 in Washington, D.C.

SAF's targeted outreach to the funeral industry has yielded more good press for the floral industry.

Can you say, 'they're working it?' Florists betting on their hometown teams in the playoffs to the World Series are winning more than just ball games.

"I heard Billy's getting fired." "I saw a couple of men in suits in here yesterday, I bet the shop is getting sold." "Did you hear Mary messed up last night's order?"

A Scottsdale, Ariz., florists' online survey shows how important customer feedback on product can be.

Not even a locked door can stop a bride on her wedding day, as a Swedish florist recently discovered.

Want to make sure you are accurately pricing your holiday bouquets? Let SAF do the math for you. With SAF's Retail Pricing Worksheet, you just plug in your flowers, their wholesale prices, and your markup into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file and the worksheet calculates the prices for you.

On the Educators' Forum, one member says she is writing a grant for funding of a DVD which will give background on the floral industry, to entice younger generations to seek jobs in the industry — and would like input from other industry members. Weigh in.

Almost 73 percent of readers responding to the previous week's e-poll say they have not attended a national or international exhibition of breeders and growers. About 27 percent say they have.

There are holidays and there are holidays. Sweetest Day, a biggie in the mid-west, was promoted by 20 percent of florists nationwide, according to SAF's 2006 survey of retail florists.