All people may be created equal, but that’s not the case for supermarkets. According to the Food Marketing Institute, there are more than 37,000 grocery stores and supermarkets in the United States. They spread across the country from large metropolitan areas to small rural communities and their floral departments come in all sizes too. But regardless of their size, supermarket floral centers all use the same calendar and focus their business on the same floral holidays.

The calendar is turning and the clock is ticking — Valentine’s Day is just a few weeks away. According to the Society of American Florists, it is the most important floral holiday of the year. It accounts for 36 percent of all holiday floral transactions and moe than 40 percent of total holiday dollars for the year.

A profitable Valentine’s Day influences a floral department’s annual success.

As predicted, and thanks to a 2013 mid-week Valentine’s Day, the floral industry reported one of its strongest sales figures in recent memory. According to the Society of American Florist, traffic in floral shops was up 36 percent for the holiday. Also holding true was consumer appetite for containers with a vintage feel, and for flower vessels that evoke an image of environmental responsibility.

A potential 2012 strike by U.S. dockworkers had threatened the supply of imported vases for the first quarter of 2013, but fortunately that was averted.

The Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition begins a three-day run at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Jan. 23. Events scheduled include a grower tour in the Homestead, FL, area on Jan. 22; a variety of speakers, short courses and demonstrations; a silent auction and a 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall with more than 500 companies showcasing the latest trends in tropical foliage and flowers.

Tuesday, Jan. 21

7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. TPIE Nursery Tour in Homestead, FL, area

8 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration open

A gala celebration of its 50th anniversary is being planned well in advance by the American Institute of Floral Designers, with offices in Baltimore. AIFD was founded by 12 floral designers in 1965, and as part of a two-year celebration the anniversary task force is gathering photos, anecdotes and documents from its history. The event will culminate at the annual AIFD convention held in Denver in July 2015.

In early 2013, Jon Strom, then vice president at Price Chopper Supermarkets in Schenectady, NY, predicted that we may be facing a “floral cliff.”

He said that the combination of the rising cost of labor, transportation and supplies in Colombia and the increased value of the peso had caused many small farms to go out of business, which reduced overall supply. Strom said to create a win-win situation for yourself by forming partnerships with suppliers in order to avoid the fiscal cliff.