Ditmars Flower Shop

Thank you George for the 3 amazing arrangements for my mother Cynthia’s funeral. You are a great credit to your industry and to the Astoria Community. Thank you.

What a great shop. Abel helped me with my wedding bouquet and it couldn’t have been better.

I have purchased several beautiful pre-​made bouquets from this shop over the past few years and have always been very pleased with their quality and service. That’s why I was shocked by the awful bouquet they created for my wedding in June and even more disappointed by their rude treatment of me.
I stopped by their store several days before the event and asked them to design a very simple wedding bouquet for me with white and purple flowers. I wanted peonies and hydrangeas, but apparently peonies were out of season and hydrangeas don’t do well in summer heat. They suggested some alternatives from their case that would have a similar effect. I’m not a flower expert and had pretty basic/​simple expectations so I was happy to follow their advice. Flowers are naturally beautiful… how could it ever be that bad, right?
I only wish I had taken a photo of the «bouquet» they created. It was straight up CRAZY! It looked like a cauliflower with 4 long purple antennas. I’m usually way too shy to complain but it was THAT bad. I asked if perhaps they could bring down the purple flowers a bit so there wasn’t such an extreme height difference, but they clearly didn’t want to re-​do the binding. They actually suggested trimming the flowers down from the top. That would have looked terrible and I could tell they had no any artistic sense. I pretty much begged them to pull out the strange purple stems and leave me with the cauliflower bush. Even the greenery used was unsightly, it included several dried and spotted leaves I had to pull off.
The ugly arrangement was only part of the issue however. More upsetting was the response by the owner/​manager. He was immediately defensive and even started to yell. «You shouldn’t have picked those flowers if you didn’t like them!»
It was literally two hours before my wedding ceremony, I didn’t even bother arguing.

It started with over a week ago when I thought it was a good idea to give flower to my mother for Mother’s Day. I looked up a local place that was a few blocks from my mom’s house. Local delivery means it’s fresher and faster, right?
The online process was fine, but there was no specific time delivery. I didn’t give too much thought about it. A few days before mother’s day I gave my mother a call and told her to expect a delivery. Surprise?
Mother’s day came and my mother waited the whole morning for it. At 2:30pm, she called me and said she wanted to go to eat. We lost Mother’s Day brunch waiting for this «surprise». I told her it was flowers, and she ask me to call to see when they’re delivering.
George picked up and said Mother’s Day delivery ranges 8am-​8pm and the truck will probably get there at 6pm. They’ll leave a note if we’re not there and redeliver at our earliest convenience free of charge.
Alright, so we left for an early dinner and came back to her house around 6:45pm. There was no note around the door so we figure the florist hasn’t came around yet. I left and told her to probably expect it up to 8pm.
9:11pm I got an email claiming the flowers were delivered. I called my mom and she said they never came. I call the Flower Shop and they were like, oh yea, we went there at 6pm and no one was there.
«I didn’t see any note.» Oh, the truck driver left a message on the answering machine. George was closing the shop and offered to deliver the flowers personally after he closed the shop. I said okay, fine. I called my mother to tell her to expect the florist coming from around 9−10pm. By then she was complaining about waiting all day for flowers that never came, flowers that have been wilting in a truck since morning and it looks completely nasty now. She was very upset and felt that Mother’s day was ruined.
George contacted me a few days later because of a very upsetting Unilocal review and wanted to make things right. After a good long thought, the best way was the formal apologize. The next day, after my mother came home from a make-​up Mother’s day celebration, there was an apology card, and sincerely letter apology in English and Chinese, and a money plant. I think she’s feel better than Sunday now.
Ditmars Flower Shop really went out of their way to make things right. Mistakes can be made at times, but management do really want their customers to be happy. This is what make local businesses great.

I’m very big into customer service and whenever I walk into Ditmars Flower Shop I always feel as if the employees have my full attention and best interests in mind. Very courteous, knowledgable, and friendly staff! The floor manager George is extremely accommodating in helping me select the perfect arrangement for whatever the occasion is and does so with a passion for the job. He really seems to know what he’s talking about as my girlfriend, mother, and sisters are always beyond satisfied with their arrangements. There are several other flower shops closer to where I live but I always go the extra distance to shop from Ditmars Flower Shop because of the quality of their flowers, the longer than average life span of their plants/​flowers, and their appreciation for their customers!

My experience of Ditmars Flowers was wonderful! The place is clean, bright and fully loaded with many different plants and flowers to accommodate any request needed! The manager, George is knowledgeable and very experienced in the flower industry and made my process of ordering so much more relaxing! I know I can trust him, cause he is reliable and very responsible! I recommend Ditmars Flowers to everyone!

The listing for this business is a little odd. If you look it up on Google, it says it is permanently closed — btw its not. Here on Unilocal they only list the 800 number, like its mostly mail/​online ordering. They have a local number… and are very much a welcoming place to walk into and check out the wares.
Personally I was looking for a Venus Fly Trap, and they had plenty of them. The guy, George, was very cool and helpful about telling me how to take care of it. Other than my needs, they had beautiful arrangements of flowers and a diverse array of potted plants.
Some of the other reviews on here are pretty negative. Seems like Ditmars Flower Shop is as passionate about hooking people up with the labors of their horticulture as others are about bashing a totally legitimate business.
I’d go back with bells on.

I ordered some flowers for a last minute celebration. Myrna was wonderful. She totally «got» the effect I was going for and made some great suggestions. I got the feeling that she was excited about our event as I was and couldn’t wait to get to work on the flowers.
People commented on how gorgeous the arrangements were, and the roses smelled terrific. I highly recommend this place, and recommend listening to their ideas. They definitely know what they are doing.

I come here because it’s close to home and they have beautiful flowers. I grow orchids and when I was having some issues I consulted with the owner and his advice was spot on. If you’re in the neighborhood check them out you won’t be disappointed.

Had a great experience. I went in and got great service from George. He was very knowledgable and had a great eye for putting together a custom arrangement for me. Wish I lived closer to come here for all my flower needs five stars

I love this place. I got my wedding flowers here and have been going back regularly ever since.
John and Stephano always seem to be able to pick out just the right «I’m sorry for messing up» bouquet.
The guys have such good taste, and really know how to get people great quality flowers for whatever money you have on you.

Do not use them. They are the most incompetent flower shop around. I ordered a bouquet for almost $ 300 on my wedding day for my bride. I specifically told them that they had to be delivered before a certain time so that she could take pictures with them. After calling them multiple times, and being told that they were on there way (did I mention that the shop is walking distance from her parents house?), they finally arrived 2 ½ hours late!!! They came as she was about to get in the limo and only had time for 1 picture. What kind of florist can’t deliver flowers on time on a persons wedding day? Don’t waste your time, there are plenty of other flower shops in Astoria that know understand the meaning of customer service. Men beware, you’re better off ordering from 1 – 800 FLOWERS than these clowns.

When it comes to getting flowers on Ditmars, this is a buyer’s market, as there are plenty of places all within walking distance of one another vying for your patronage. Well, today I was in the market for some flowers for a certain sick bf of mine and decided to take my time with this task. Ditmars Flowers & Gifts was my last stop, and I’m sure glad that I didn’t skip it!
This is by far the nicest and most creative florist on the street, with many flowers and arrangement styles to choose from and a variety of both potted and cut flowers. There are many trendy creations, such as a fishbowl with live succulents and many artsy orchid arrangements, as well as the standard roses and gerberas you’ll find at most florists. The difference between this place and the others on the block is that, while most places will give you a standard bouquet, this one will give you an artsy one. Many of the other florists here are outdated in their styles and décor and tend to use cheap filler flowers in their bouquets or even fake (!) ones (notice the artificial pointsettias many Astoria many florists adorn their wreaths with around Christmas). If you want more than just the bare minimum for flowers on Ditmars, then this is your best bet.

We ordered a dozen table arrangements for our wedding reception from Ditmars Flower Shop, and the flowers were a spectacular success. 5 stars for the quality of their arrangements! However, their customer service was frustrating, with last-​minute difficulties arranging deliveries and a real lack of professionalism in that respect. Still, if you’re willing to put up with some frustration in customer service, I’d still highly recommend them.

I stopped in here once to get a price estimate of how much it would cost for them to do my wedding. The guy appeared to be nice and helpful (at first) but when I asked him a few more questions (like what color flowers would look good in an arrangement), he said «$ 100 for a floral consultation.» Then he went to explain that I would get that money back only if I booked my wedding with him. Then he added that people who asked about flowers sometimes stole his ideas and took their business elsewhere. I ask a few ordinary questions and he brands me an intellectual property thief? Insulted, I high-​tailed it out of there and promptly gave another Astoria florist my $ 5K. Don’t be taken in by the clean, well-​kept place — attitude and service count more with me.

It’s a hit or miss.
I’ve ordered from Ditmars Flower Shop several times and what i’ve concluded is that they’re not consistent with their products.
I’ll order a bouquet from their online site and the finished product sometimes looks WAY different from what i’ve ordererd.
Note: «WAY different» means… subpar, disappointing :0(
There are a few occassions where they’ve met my expectations and the delivery service is good. The flowers are fresh and last a week or sometimes more
The only gripe i have is that in my book, they’re not a reliable source for me when i want to sent bouquet/​flowers to someone. You never know what you’re gonna get.
Price: Moderate (decent price)
Service: Good
Delivery Service: Good
Finished Product: Hit or Miss :0(

Going «green» has never been a problem here, as the entire place is decked out in plants varying in all shapes and sizes. In fact, upon first glance this place looks almost like a mini-​jungle compared to a flower shop as they specialize in much more than just flowers.
I have gone here to research plants for décor reasons as well as romantic, but in general many of these pots + plants make for good gifts as well. Prices aren’t horrendous, but a good rule of thumb here is to measure the price by the size of the plant. So that 5 foot bamboo shoot may be a tad more expensive than the tiny Venus Fly Trap.
Service here is solid. They’re good about greeting new customers that come and do a semi-​adequate job of describing each of their plants to would be buyers. Phone manners could use a little work at times, as I’ve been rushed off in more than occasion. I figured it was because they were busy but I don’t see this place busy virtually ever. Allergy sufferers /​pollen haters beware, this place is rough on the histamines.