Flowers to Russia: Answers to What Senders Abroad Ask Us Most
Sending flowers to Russia from abroad takes a few minutes: you choose a bouquet on our site, pay online - foreign bank cards are accepted - and our courier delivers it to the recipient's door. Delivery within the city costs 500 RUB, express delivery in large cities takes 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, and in Saint Petersburg we deliver around the clock.
Pyat Tsvetov has been making bouquets in Saint Petersburg since 2011, and a large share of our orders come from people who live in another country. They tend to ask the same handful of questions: whether their card will work, when the flowers will arrive, what the courier says at the door and which flowers are a mistake in Russia. Below are the answers, in the order people usually ask them.
Paying for a bouquet from another country
The first question from abroad is almost always about payment. Foreign bank cards are accepted on our site; the payment goes through Robokassa, so you pay the way you would in any online checkout. Customers with Russian accounts can also pay by Russian bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay. All payment happens online when you place the order, so the recipient does not pay anything at the door.
Delivery within the city costs 500 RUB. If the address is in a suburb or a remote district, the operator confirms the delivery price when confirming the order, before anything is finalised. The bouquet prices are shown in the catalogue, and the full conditions are on the delivery and payment page. If anything in the checkout is unclear, call us on 8 (812) 507-67-05 and we will go through it with you.
Delivery times and how to choose them
There are four ways to time a delivery. Express delivery in large cities brings the bouquet 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, which is what most people choose when they remember a birthday on the day. An exact time means the courier arrives within 30 minutes either side of the moment you set. A time window - 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21 - is the practical option when you know roughly when the person is at home.
For a known date, pre-order 1 to 30 days ahead. This is the calmest way to send flowers from abroad, because you do not have to catch the right hour across time zones on the day itself. Keep in mind that Russia spans eleven time zones, and the time you choose is the time at the delivery address. Saint Petersburg runs on Moscow time.
In Saint Petersburg we deliver around the clock, which matters for two kinds of orders: a bouquet that should be waiting at midnight for a birthday, and a late evening delivery for someone who works long hours. Outside Saint Petersburg, plan within the standard time windows.
Bouquets we can deliver
What the recipient experiences at the door
Senders often worry that the courier will spoil the surprise. Delivery is anonymous by default: the courier hands over the bouquet and does not say who sent it. The only clue is the card, and the card is free, so you decide whether to sign it with your full name, a pet name or nothing at all.
About 15 minutes before arrival the courier phones the recipient. This is to make sure someone is home and can open the door or come down to the entrance, which in large Russian apartment blocks with intercoms and locked courtyards saves a lot of time. Give a number the recipient actually answers; older relatives sometimes ignore unknown calls, so you may want to warn them that a delivery is coming without saying what it is.
If nobody is at home, the flowers are not left on a doorstep. We agree a second delivery the same day, or, if you consent, hand the bouquet to a neighbour or a concierge. Mention any such arrangement when you order, so the courier does not have to wait for your reply.
Which flowers Russians expect, and which to avoid
The question we hear most from people who did not grow up in Russia is about the number of stems. For any happy occasion, give an odd number: 5, 7, 9, 11 roses. Even numbers are for funerals and graves, and an older recipient will notice. Once a bouquet reaches 25 stems or more, nobody counts, but for small bouquets this rule is still firmly kept.
Colour comes second. Deep red roses are for a wife, husband or sweetheart and look out of place sent to a mother-in-law or a colleague. Pastel and white bouquets suit mothers, grandmothers and teachers. Some older people still link yellow with parting, so a bouquet that is entirely yellow is a risk for that generation, while yellow mixed with other colours is fine. Strict arrangements of white carnations or chrysanthemums are associated with memorials and Victory Day, not birthdays.
Seasonal flowers are a good way to send something that feels like Russia at that time of year. Spring is the season of tulips, mimosa around 8 March and irises, which are beautiful but short-lived in the vase. Early summer brings peonies and, a little later, fragrant matthiola, whose scent fills a whole room in the evening. In autumn and winter, roses, chrysanthemums and eustoma hold up best in warm, centrally heated flats.
The dates when Russians give flowers
Russia has more flower-giving days than most countries, and missing one is noticed. The biggest is 8 March, International Women's Day, when men give flowers to every woman in their lives: wife, mother, daughters and female colleagues. On 1 September children bring bouquets to school, and on Teachers' Day in early October former pupils still send flowers to teachers they remember.
Birthdays are the most common reason to send flowers to Russia from abroad, followed by wedding anniversaries, hospital discharges after a birth and thank-you bouquets. Doctors and nurses are often thanked with flowers after a treatment or an operation; our article on flowers for a Russian doctor or nurse explains when that is welcome. For all fixed dates, especially 8 March, pre-ordering a week or two ahead is the safest choice.
Writing the address so the courier finds it
A full Russian address includes the city, the street, the building number, sometimes a korpus (block), the entrance number, the floor and the apartment. Write the street name in Latin letters as it appears in the recipient's own address, for example 'nab. Obvodnogo kanala' for Obvodny Canal Embankment; our operators read transliterated addresses every day. The entrance number and intercom code are the details most often missing, and they make the biggest difference in large residential blocks.
Add the recipient's name as they use it, the phone number and any useful note: a gate on the left, a closed courtyard, a reception desk in an office building. If you are not sure how to write something, call 8 (812) 507-67-05 before placing the order and we will help you get it right.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay for flowers to Russia with a foreign card?
Yes. Foreign bank cards are accepted on our site, with payment processed by Robokassa. Russian bank cards, SBP and Yandex Pay also work.
How long does delivery to Russia take?
In large cities express delivery takes 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed. You can also choose an exact time, a time window or a pre-order 1 to 30 days ahead.
Do you deliver at night?
In Saint Petersburg delivery is around the clock. In other cities, choose from the standard windows 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 and 18-21 or an exact time.
Will the recipient know who sent the bouquet?
Only if you say so on the card. Delivery is anonymous by default, and the courier does not name the sender.
How much does delivery cost?
Delivery within the city costs 500 RUB. For suburbs and remote districts the operator confirms the price when confirming the order.
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