Birthday Flowers Arrived Incomplete, Defective or With a Bad Smell: What to Do
If birthday flowers arrive incomplete, defective or with a bad smell, photograph the bouquet straight away from several sides, keep the wrapping, card and any water container, and contact the shop the same day with your order number and the pictures. Do not throw anything away or start trimming before you have taken photos: clear evidence and quick contact are what let a florist understand the problem and agree a solution with you.
In our shops in Saint Petersburg we hear these questions regularly, usually from a sender abroad whose mother or friend has just sent a photo that looks wrong. Some of these cases are real defects, others are normal behaviour of fresh flowers after a journey in the cold. Below we explain how to tell the difference, what to check for each type of problem and how to report it so it gets resolved quickly.
The first fifteen minutes: what to do before anything else
Take photos before you unwrap, trim or move anything. One shot of the whole bouquet, one from above, close-ups of the problem - broken stems, dark petals, mould - and a picture of the card and packaging. Daylight near a window shows colours honestly; a flash flattens them and can make petals look worse or better than they are. If the bouquet came in a box or with a water container, photograph that too.
Write down the time the bouquet arrived and anything the courier said. Then put the flowers into water anyway: whatever the outcome, they should not dry out while you wait. Recut the stems, remove leaves below the waterline and use a clean vase. This does not destroy evidence as long as the photos are taken first, and it often turns out that a bouquet that looked tired at the door recovers within a couple of hours.
If you are the recipient and someone abroad sent the flowers, send the photos to the sender as well. The sender placed the order, so they have the order number and can contact the shop on your behalf. Many recipients in Russia feel awkward complaining about a gift, and it helps to know that a quick, polite message is all it takes.
Incomplete bouquet: how to check against the order
The most common question in the shop is whether the number of flowers is right. Count the main flowers - roses, tulips, peonies - rather than trying to count every sprig of greenery. Compare the count, colours and size with the order confirmation, not with a memory of the catalogue photo. If the sender ordered 21 roses and 19 arrived, that is a fact you can state clearly; if the bouquet simply looks smaller than expected, compare the stated size or stem count before deciding it is incomplete.
Check for missing elements that were part of the order: the card with the sender's text, a ribbon, a box, an extra item ordered with the flowers. A card can occasionally slip between stems or into the wrapping, so look carefully before reporting it lost. Also bear in mind that in a dense bouquet some heads sit lower and are hidden by others, so counting from above can be misleading.
Our article on birthday flowers in Russia explains one detail that sometimes causes confusion: bouquets for a living person in Russia traditionally have an odd number of flowers. If you see an odd count where you expected a round figure, check the order details before assuming a stem is missing.
Bouquets we can deliver
Defective or just tired after the journey
Fresh flowers often look different at the door than in the shop, especially in winter. Roses usually arrive with their outer guard petals, which can look slightly bruised or browned at the edges; these protect the bud and are meant to be removed. Tulips droop after travel and straighten in cool water within a few hours. Hydrangeas and some garden roses may look limp on arrival and recover once the stems have been recut. None of this is a defect.
Real defects look different. Grey fluffy mould on petals or at the base of the flower head, petals that are black, glassy or translucent (a sign of frost damage), stems broken in the middle, or heads that stay bent after several hours in fresh water - these are worth reporting. The same applies to flowers that drop all their petals at a touch on the first day, or to leaves that are slimy rather than simply a bit soft.
If you are unsure, give the bouquet three to four hours in clean cool water after a fresh cut and take a second set of photos. Before and after pictures tell a florist a great deal. If you want to understand the difference in more detail, our article on same-day flowers that arrived wilted walks through the revival steps and when to stop trying.
Bad smell: where it comes from and what it means
A sour or swampy smell almost always comes from water, not from the flowers themselves. Bouquets are often delivered with a water bag or a water container at the base of the stems, and if leaves were left below the waterline or the bouquet stood warm for a long time, bacteria develop quickly. Remove the container, rinse the stem ends under running water, cut off 2-3 cm and put the flowers into a clean vase with fresh water. If the smell disappears, the flowers are usually fine.
Some flowers simply smell strong or unusual. Lilies have a heavy perfume that many people find too much in a small room; chrysanthemum leaves have a bitter, herbal scent; certain greenery used in bouquets smells sharp when crushed. These are natural properties, not a sign of rot. A smell of rot that remains after the stems are recut and the water changed, together with slimy stems or dark patches, does indicate a problem worth reporting.
Floral foam in a box arrangement can also smell stale if it dried out and was rewetted. In that case, top up the foam with fresh water every day and keep the arrangement away from radiators. If the smell is accompanied by visible mould on the foam, take a photo of it before doing anything else.
How to report the problem so it gets resolved quickly
Contact the shop on the day of delivery, while the flowers are still in the state you are describing. A complaint sent a week later, when the bouquet has naturally faded, is very hard to assess fairly. Give the order number, the delivery address and the time of delivery, describe the problem in one or two plain sentences and attach the photos. If both sender and recipient are involved, agree which of you will be the point of contact so the shop is not dealing with two parallel conversations.
Be specific about what you expected and what arrived: two roses missing, a broken stem, mould on three flowers, a missing card. A precise description is answered faster than a general feeling that the bouquet is not right. Keep the flowers in water and do not dispose of them until the question is settled, as the florist may ask for an extra photo from a particular angle.
For orders placed with us, call 8 (812) 507-67-05 and the manager will go through the photos with you. We have run our own flower shops in Saint Petersburg since 2011, and we would always rather hear about a problem on the same day than learn about it from an unhappy review weeks later.
Ordering birthday flowers with fewer surprises
Most delivery problems start with details. Give the recipient's full address with entrance, floor and door code, a phone number that will actually be answered, and a delivery window when the person is at home. The courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arrival; if nobody is there, a second delivery the same day or handing the flowers to a neighbour or concierge is agreed with the sender's consent, so the bouquet does not wait outside in the cold.
Choose the time sensibly. You can order express delivery in large cities, which takes 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, pick an exact time with an accuracy of plus or minus 30 minutes, choose a window - 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21 - or pre-order 1-30 days ahead for a birthday. In Saint Petersburg delivery runs around the clock, which helps when you want flowers waiting at midnight. City delivery costs 500 RUB; for remote districts and suburbs the operator confirms the price when confirming the order.
Browse the bouquet catalogue and pay online by bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay; foreign bank cards are accepted via Robokassa. Delivery is anonymous by default, and a card with your text is free - write your name in it if you want the recipient to know who sent the flowers. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Should I throw away birthday flowers that arrived damaged?
Not straight away. Photograph them first and keep the bouquet, wrapping and card until the issue is resolved, as the shop may ask for more photos. Put the flowers in water in the meantime.
How soon should I complain about a defective bouquet?
On the day of delivery, ideally within a few hours. Flowers change quickly, and same-day photos are the only reliable way to show their condition on arrival.
Why does my bouquet smell bad?
Usually because of stale water in the container at the base of the stems. Rinse the stems, recut them and put them in clean water; if the smell remains along with slimy stems or dark patches, report it.
Are bruised outer rose petals a defect?
No. These are guard petals that protect the bud during transport and are normally removed after delivery. A defect is mould, frost-blackened petals or heads that do not recover in water.
Who should contact the shop, the sender or the recipient?
Usually the sender, because they have the order number. The recipient can send photos to the sender, and for our orders either of you can call 8 (812) 507-67-05.
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