Sending Flowers Internationally: A Florist's Practical Guide
Sending flowers internationally works by ordering from a florist in the recipient's country, not by shipping a bouquet across borders: you pay online, and the flowers are arranged and delivered there on the chosen day. For Russia, Pyat Tsvetov takes the order on its website, accepts foreign bank cards and delivers across the country, with city delivery at 500 RUB.
We have run our flower shops in Saint Petersburg since 2011, and a large share of our orders come from people abroad: daughters in Germany sending flowers to their mothers, colleagues in the US congratulating a colleague in Moscow, husbands working away for the season. The questions they ask are always the same, so this guide answers them in the order customers usually raise them.
How an international flower order actually works
Customers sometimes picture a box of roses flying from New York to Saint Petersburg. That never ends well: cut flowers need water and cool air, a few days in transit dries out the stems, and plant material crossing a border can be stopped for inspection. The working model is simpler. You choose the bouquet on our site from wherever you are, and our florists assemble it and our courier delivers it in Russia within hours.
This means the freshness of an international bouquet is the same as one ordered by a neighbour down the street. It also means you can choose fragile flowers - peonies, ranunculus, garden roses, hydrangea - that would never survive a parcel. The only things that cross the border are your payment and your message.
What does change for a sender abroad is the amount of information you need to give upfront. You will not be able to pop round and check the address or catch the recipient on the doorstep, so the order form has to carry everything the courier needs.
Paying from abroad: the first question everyone asks
The most common call we get from abroad is about payment, because many Russian websites only accept Russian cards. We accept foreign bank cards: payment goes through Robokassa, and you pay online on the site at checkout. Russian cards, SBP and Yandex Pay work as well, which is useful if a relative in Russia prefers to pay on your behalf.
Before you pay, the final amount should be clear. Delivery within the city costs 500 RUB. For remote districts and suburbs the operator confirms the delivery price when confirming the order, so if the recipient lives outside the city limits you will hear the price before the bouquet goes out. All conditions are collected on the delivery and payment page.
If your card is declined or the bank asks for an extra confirmation, the simplest step is to call us at 8 (812) 507-67-05. Foreign banks sometimes flag a first payment to a Russian merchant, and a quick call to your own bank usually clears it.
Bouquets we can deliver
Choosing the delivery time across time zones
Saint Petersburg and Moscow share one time zone, three hours ahead of UTC all year, because Russia does not move its clocks. London is two or three hours behind, New York seven or eight, and the gap shifts when your country changes to summer time. Siberian and Far Eastern cities are further ahead still, so always set the time in the recipient's city, not in your own.
In large cities you can ask for express delivery, 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed. You can also book an exact time with a margin of plus or minus 30 minutes, choose one of the windows 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21, or pre-order 1 to 30 days ahead. Senders abroad tend to pre-order for birthdays and anniversaries, so the date is fixed even if they are travelling or busy that week.
In Saint Petersburg delivery runs around the clock. That is how we deliver bouquets at midnight for a birthday that begins at 00:00, or early in the morning before someone leaves for work. For other cities, use the daytime options above.
Getting the address right in a Russian city
An address in Russia has more parts than many senders expect: street, building number, sometimes a building section (korpus) or structure (stroenie), then the entrance (podezd), floor and flat. Old Petersburg houses add their own puzzle, with courtyards behind arches and entrances that open from the yard rather than the street. Write every part you know and add the intercom code in the comment.
The recipient's phone number is just as important. The courier calls about 15 minutes before arrival, so give a mobile number with the +7 code that the person actually answers. If they are out, we agree a second delivery the same day or, with your consent, leave the bouquet with a neighbour or a concierge. For a surprise, give us the number of a family member who can make sure someone is at home.
Orders to smaller towns follow the same rules. Our articles on towns such as Slavgorod show how timing and seasons work outside the big cities.
What to choose so the bouquet suits the recipient
Customers abroad often ask what is appropriate, and the answer depends more on the person than on the occasion. For a mother or grandmother, soft mixed bouquets with spray roses, chrysanthemums and alstroemeria are welcome and last well. For a wife or girlfriend, roses remain the classic, while a seasonal bouquet of tulips in spring or peonies in June shows that you thought about the moment.
Two Russian customs are worth keeping. A bouquet of single stems should have an odd number of flowers, since even numbers are for funerals; with large or mixed bouquets this matters less. Older recipients may still remember that yellow flowers once hinted at parting, so for them we suggest white, cream or pink tones.
If you want a reliable shortcut, open the bouquets catalogue and choose by occasion. Compact bouquets suit small flats and offices; tall arrangements need a deep vase, which not every recipient has.
The card, anonymity and the moment of delivery
A card with your text is free, and it is worth taking a minute over. Write in English if that is your shared language, or add a line in Russian transliteration - 'S lyubovyu' (with love) or 'S dnem rozhdeniya' (happy birthday) is understood by everyone. Sign the card if you want to be recognised: our delivery is anonymous by default, and the courier does not name the sender.
On the day itself, the courier rings about 15 minutes before arriving, hands over the bouquet with your card and leaves. Recipients who do not expect anything are sometimes cautious with an unknown number, so if the gift is not a total surprise, it helps to tell them to pick up calls that afternoon.
Ask the recipient, or put a note in the card, to trim the stems by a couple of centimetres and use cool, clean water. In winter, a bouquet brought in from the frost should rest in its wrapping for 15-20 minutes before it goes into a vase, so the petals warm gradually. Keep it away from radiators and fruit, and change the water every day or two; most bouquets then stay fresh for a week or longer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay for flower delivery in Russia with a foreign card?
Yes. We accept foreign bank cards through Robokassa when you pay online on the site. Russian cards, SBP and Yandex Pay are also accepted.
How much does delivery cost?
City delivery costs 500 RUB. For remote districts and suburbs the operator confirms the price when confirming the order.
Can flowers be delivered at night?
In Saint Petersburg delivery is around the clock, so midnight and early-morning deliveries are possible. In other cities choose an exact time or one of the daytime windows.
How far ahead can I order from abroad?
You can pre-order 1 to 30 days ahead. For urgent cases, express delivery in large cities arrives 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed.
Who do I contact with questions about my order?
Call us at 8 (812) 507-67-05 with any question about the address, the delivery time or the card. It is easiest to call before placing the order if something is unclear.
Ready to send a bouquet?
Pick a city, choose the flowers, and we will hand them over with a photo confirmation.
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