The season of romance is upon us and Mirror writer Niamh put supermarket red roses to the test for a week to compare quality, colour vibrancy and longevity. One bunch truly blew her away
If you're searching for the best red roses for Valentine's Day, don't overlook your local supermarket.
As the season of love is in full swing, shops are filling up with huge bouquets and red roses are lining the shelves. Ahead of the most romantic night of the year, you may be scrambling to find the best flowers for your special someone. Whether you love or loathe the tradition, you can't escape it - so I decided to see which shop-bought blooms fare best on the run-up to the big day.
Supermarket flowers are far more affordable than a bespoke bunch from a florist, but I wanted to see if you really do compromise on quality. I decided to go to , Aldi and Tesco to see if their flowers were just as good, and one bunch was just as beautful as a florist offering for under half the price.
To really put these supermarket blooms through their paces, I compared what the roses looked like at the beginning of my test to a week later, judging them on longevity, vibrancy of colour and luxury feel. All of the flowers were bought at the same time.
Tesco - £15
These are pricey for supermarket flowers but they look amazing. The roses are impressive in size and look very expensive from the off - you can tell they're good quality.
They are long-stemmed and the petals are large and a perfect shape. I'm no florist but even I can tell these are the real deal.
I'd be extremely happy if I was lucky enough to receive these - and I'd never be able to tell they're from Tesco.
The roses come wrapped in thick paper wrapping as well as the protective plastic wrapper over the top, which makes them feel a little more premium. The blooms themselves are a very vibrant bright red, like something out of a Disney film.
After a week it was quite noticeable they were starting to very slightly wilt. This is likely down to the petals being so big, as this made the colour change far more noticeable. Despite this, they still look good a seven days in.
Rating: 10/10
- £12
I was pleasantly surprised by these, they are a lot smaller than the Tesco bunch but they are very full and they smell very fresh. Again, you can tell they are good quality flowers as the petals are quite thick and a very vibrant red colour.
Quite a few of the buds hadn't bloomed when I picked them up, so I knew they were going to last well. After a week these still look relatively good. There are a few darker petals which is to be expected, but overall they're still extremely full and bright. I am very impressed with them.
Rating: 9/10
Aldi - £2.99
These were the cheapest of the bunch, but don't be fooled, they were by far the best-smelling ones. The roses come complete with eucalyptus which smells amazing as soon as you open them. Granted, the roses aren't the biggest, but they are still very pretty and look nice in a vase.
There were lots of bunches to choose from in Aldi, with all sorts of different coloured roses too. After a week, the roses are looking a little worse for wear. The only reason they still look reasonably appealing is thanks to the other flowers in the bunch. However, for the price you can't really complain. Aldi has released a dozen red roses for £4.49 ahead of Valentine's Day - so let's hope they last a little better than these.
Rating: 4/10
The verdict: Best supermarket Valentine's Day roses
Tesco's bunch gets my winning vote thanks to overall quality, premium packaging and vibrant colour. If you're after the wow factor these are the ones to go for - however, for roses that will probably last a little longer, I'd recommend the M&S roses. The Aldi blooms are a good cost effective offering but don't be surprised if they don't last the week.
Do you have a story to share? Email Niamh.Kirk@reachplc.com
