Choosing autumn flowers: what is actually in season from October to December

Autumn is the season that makes florists in Charleston quietly relieved. After a long Lowcountry summer of humidity and heat, October brings cooler mornings, drier air, and suppliers that start offering varieties that actually hold. Here is what we expect to see from October to December, and what we recommend for different occasions.

October: dahlias and the last of the summer

October is a transitional month. You will still find summer varieties in the first two weeks, but by mid-October the dahlias are at their best. The autumn crop tends to have deeper, richer colors than the summer flush: burgundy, rust, deep orange, and a dark purple that photographs almost black.

Celosia is another October staple. The crested variety, sometimes called cockscomb, holds its shape for ten days or more and dries beautifully if you hang it upside down. We use it in both fresh arrangements and in the dried wreaths we start making in October.

November: chrysanthemums and the shift to warmth

November is chrysanthemum season, and the choice is wider than most customers expect. Beyond the standard white spray chrysanthemum, there are button varieties in yellow and bronze, large-headed single blooms in deep red, and a spidery variety with long, curling petals that works well in contemporary arrangements.

We also start seeing more dried and preserved material in November: pampas grass, dried hydrangea, and preserved eucalyptus. These are useful for arrangements that need to last longer than a week, or for customers who want something they can keep through the winter.

December: working around the holiday demand

December is the month when flower prices climb noticeably. Demand from corporate clients and gift buyers pushes up the cost of roses and lilies in particular. Our advice for December is to lean into the seasonal material rather than fighting for out-of-season varieties at inflated prices.

Dried wreaths, arrangements built around pine and cedar, and simple bunches of winter-flowering narcissus tend to be both more affordable and more appropriate to the season. We keep our December pricing as stable as we can by planning our purchases a week ahead rather than buying reactively.

If you want to know what is available on a specific date, the best approach is to email or call us a few days ahead. Availability changes week by week, and we would rather tell you honestly what is coming in than promise something we cannot deliver.