Post-a-Rose flowers are the freshest anywhere - up to 1 week fresher than traditional floral providers. So what's Post-a-Rose's secret? Simple - they're delivered direct from Post-a-Rose's Nursery. No middleman to slow delivery or extended stays in refrigerators before they reach your doorstep. This means that, as a customer, you win in three big ways: Freshness, Quality and Savings. Post-a-Rose offer free delivery in the UK on all orders!

Post-a-Rose - Company Information

Ballakinnish is a family run nursery. The business was started in 1906 by the grandfather of the present owner Mr Ron Hotchkiss. The nurseries were then located at Glencrutchery Road Douglas nearly opposite the TT Grandstand. A variety of cut flowers, fruit and vegetables were then grown and retailed through two shops in Strand street.

The business continued under Mr Hotchkiss's father but in 1960's and 1970's the decline in tourism led to a change of emphasis and the family decided to specialise in roses.

In 1971 Mr James Hotchkiss retired and the present site was acquired just on the outskirts of Douglas and Mr Ron Hotchkiss took over the running of the business initially with 2,000 square metres of glass. Expansion took place in 1973, 1977 and 1985 which gives a present growing area of approximately 15,500 square metres given over entirely to roses.

Ron Hotchkiss has always believed that to be competitive, the business must be efficient and use the latest technology. Whilst the Isle of Man as a location has significant drawbacks, such as the cost of distributing the roses, the cost of importing plant, equipment and packaging materials and high energy costs, the climate is a major benefit because of the relatively clear skies and even temperature.

As the higher costs make it difficult to compete directly with other growers, particularly as some countries are being heavily subsidised to encourage them to grow roses, Mr Hotchkiss has elected to maximise the quality of his roses and has concentrated on making the Nursery as efficient as possible.

Main expenditure in the past has been Warm Air Heating system, Total energy and lighting system., weather station and modem computer/video camera controlled grading system.

Production of such first class quality roses has put the Isle of Man on the world map competing with renowned flower-producing countries such as Holland, Israel, the Channel Islands, Columbia and Kenya and the trade are now demanding Ballakinnish roses by name.

Post-a-Rose - Shopping Security

Post-a-Rose goes to great lengths to ensure the security and privacy of your order information. All online orders go through the Post-a-Rose shopping cart and order processing service. As you complete the Post-a-Rose online order form, the details are encrypted prior to transmission to our SSL (secure layer socket). On receipt, sensitive order details are encrypted again for maximum security. Post-a-Rose are certified by Thawte SSL via Post-a-Rose's hosting partners 3 Leg Ltd. The Post-a-Rose shopping system makes use of cookies only to remember which items have been ordered. These cookies do not collect any personal data about the user or track their movement within the Post-a-Rose site. Data held within the ordering system is only accessible by Post-a-Rose and 3 Legs Ltd staff.

All personal information is sent to the web server via an SSL link. The SSL certificate for this service is provided by Thawte. The data held in the ordering system is only accessible by Post-a-Rose staff and 3 Legs Limited. 3 Legs Limited is registered with the Isle of Man Data Protection Registrar. For credit card payments Post-a-Rose use Protx as the Post-a-Rose payment gateway.

Post-a-Rose - Rose Care

Post-a-Rose would like to share some important flower care tips and other information that will enhance the pleasure Post-a-Rose's flowers bring. But first, let Post-a-Rose tell you exactly what makes our rose bouquet unsurpassed for freshness and beauty.

How many times have you bought or received roses that look as if they have seen better days or do not live up to your expectations? The reason for this, is because most roses sold in the UK are several days old even before they reach a florist or supermarket.

As Post-a-Rose uses only roses grown on it’s own nursery, Post-a-Rose can ship them on the same day that they are picked. This makes Post-a-Rose the UK’s freshest rose supplier! In addition, most of Post-a-Rose's roses are sent whilst in early bloom, as this prevents the damage and extensive bruising that is often experienced in Post-a-Rose's competitors bouquets. You then have the added pleasure of watching them blossom.

This way, you get the longest-lasting roses and the maximum enjoyment from every order.

Like most things in life, fresh Roses are available in several different grades, which are based on specific industry standards for stem length and quality. Post-a-Rose only sell the highest grade Roses.

Regardless of your selection, you simply will not find fresher, more spectacular roses anywhere. All Post-a-Rose's roses are placed straight into Chrysal treated water from the moment that they are picked. This makes the rose believe that it is still actually on the bush. Its perfect condition can then be maintained right through until you put the rose into your vase, ensuring the benefits of longer lasting blooms.

Post-a-Rose can therefore guarantee every rose will open fully and the vase life will be extended for 7 days minimum if you follow the simple care instructions supplied with every order.

Post-a-Rose - Nine Steps to Longer-Lasting Roses

1. Strip off the leaves below the vase water line.
2. While holding the stem under water, diagonally cut (45 degree angle) 10mm off the bottom of each stem using a sharp knife.
3. If roses have begun to dry out, place them up to their necks in water.
4. Leave in a cool place and allow them to drink for 2-3 hours.
5. Prepare a clean container and fill it with water, mixing with a sachet of rose conditioner supplied.
6. Arrange in a deep vase allowing for plenty of stem in the water.
7. Make sure the roses have an ample water supply daily by keeping the vase filled to the top. Never replace the water.
8. Place the roses in a cool place overnight.
9. Never place your roses in conditions of high temperature, draughts or direct sunlight.

Post-a-Rose - Delivery

The flowers you order will be packed fresh from the Post-a-Rose nursery in the Isle of Man in the afternoon and delivered to the address of your choice. This ensures your flowers will be the freshest available, short of picking them yourself. Post-a-Rose use highly experienced couriers, who will take as much care of their fragile cargo as Post-a-Rose have taken in putting your bouquet together.

Post-a-Rose's standard bouquets are sent by First Class Parcel Post and 94% arrive next day. This means Post-a-Rose can reach every location within the United Kingdom. In addition, the reasonable cost of First Class Parcel Post is a benefit Post-a-Rose can pass on to all Post-a-Rose customers and enables Post-a-Rose to maintain their very competitive prices. The delivery cost is included in the price of the bouquet, absolutely no extra charges will be added.

As standard postal services are used for despatch, Post-a-Rose cannot guarantee an exact delivery date but Post-a-Rose do despatch to ensure bouquets do not arrive late. All Post-a-Rose delivery dates are deemed to be accurate to within one day.

Post-a-Rose also offer a Guaranteed Courier Delivery method at a small additional charge that guarantees next day delivery or a specified day.

Deluxe Bouquets are delivered by Courier and are guaranteed next day or specified day. The delivery cost is included in the price of the bouquet, absolutely no extra charges will be added.

If your order is received before 3.00pm it can be despatched that same day. Although at peak times, such as Valentines, Mothers Day and Christmas, Post-a-Rose recommend that you book two to three days in advance of the required delivery date.

If the roses are required to arrive on a Saturday they will normally be sent on Thursday. The bouquet may arrive a day early, but this saves the possibility of them being delayed over a weekend.

Post-a-Rose can accept orders up to a year prior to delivery. Whenever possible Post-a-Rose prefer at least 48hrs notice of order. Post-a-Rose's courier undertakes to attempt delivery before 5.00pm on the day of delivery.

If the recipient is not at the delivery address you state at time of delivery, the Post-a-Rose courier will attempt to find a safe place to leave your bouquet e.g. next door or in a porch. In the instance where there is no safe place the Post-a-Rose courier will leave a card for the recipient, with a telephone number, to enable a mutually convenient delivery time. Please note due to their perishability it is essential that the flowers are delivered quickly.

Post-a-Rose's delivery service is NOT available on Sundays or UK public holidays. Where orders have been placed for delivery on any of these dates and Post-a-Rose are unable to contact you in time, Post-a-Rose will deliver, where possible, the flowers the day before or the day after the date requested.

Post-a-Rose - Packaging

Post-a-Rose's flowers are picked on the nursery 365 days a year and this ensures they are fresh when they leave this nursery.

Post-a-Rose's Roses are delivered in customer designed attractive gift boxes to ensure your bouquet arrives in the best possible condition.

The deluxe bouquets are hand-tied, so that they can be put straight into a vase without any further arrangement. The roses are wrapped and positions so that they will not move about in the box and get damaged and the stems are wrapped in special water-retaining material, ensuring the flowers do not dry out.

Also enclosed is a sachet of Chrysal rose conditioner, care instructions and your message.