UrbanStems vs Bouqs: Where’s the Best Place to Buy Flowers Online?
Updated: Feb. 01, 2024
Wondering what the difference is between UrbanStems vs Bouqs? We reviewed both flower delivery services to help you make the best decision, whether buying flowers for a special occasion or just for fun.
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Online flower delivery has exploded, giving you several choices for treating yourself—or a loved one—to stunning arrangements no matter the occasion. But with so many options available, it begs the question: where’s the best place to buy flowers online? Below, our UrbanStems review and Bouqs review shed some light on the two services to help you choose the best option for sending Valentine’s Day flowers, Mother’s Day flowers and all the special occasions in between.
What’s the Difference Between UrbanStems and Bouqs?
While both services offer a seamless approach to online flower delivery, UrbanStems and Bouqs are unique in their own way. Here’s everything you need to know about UrbanStems vs Bouqs. Bonus: both services offer flower subscriptions to keep the blooms coming at a discounted rate.
All About UrbanStems
UrbanStems is the definition of modern flower delivery. Whether you’re shopping for birthday gifts or “thinking of you” gifts, it’s easy to find curated arrangements for any occasion. Or, if you want to send yourself a “just because” gift, it’s a breeze to shop by stem and season and even browse their collection of houseplants. All of their flowers are far from ordinary. Our UrbanStems review left us impressed with the unique and interesting variety of stems and blooms.
How We Tested UrbanStems
For our UrbanStems review, we chose three expert product testers, including myself, to evaluate and rate flowers based on online ordering experience, packaging and delivery, assembly and arranging, freshness over 10 days and overall value. We tested three separate bouquets including the Grower’s Choice Peonies, The Parade and The Juliet—all in the “double the stems” size. The Parade boasts sunflowers, snapdragons and roses while The Juliet features delphinium, lisianthus, roses and asters.
Packaging and Delivery
Unlike traditional flower deliveries from a local florist that arrive pre-arranged in a vase, UrbanStems has a fun DIY component. Flowers arrive arranged and wrapped in a protective covering inside a cardboard box. Vases cost extra. If ordered, the vase arrives in the same cardboard box as the flowers to reduce extra packaging. Flower food and care instructions are also included, so you’re not left in the dark about how to care for your arrangement.
Only one tester received a knock at their door when their UrbanStems flowers arrived. The other two deliveries were left on the porch. The testers were notified when they were dropped off to get them inside immediately.
Assembly and Arranging
Since we tested the “double the stems” size, we received two individually wrapped bouquets (versus one) inside the same cardboard box. Delicate blooms, like the sunflowers, had protective wraps. It’s recommended to wrap peonies in cardboard paper or newspaper for optimal freshness, which is exactly how they arrive wrapped inside the cardboard box. We were surprised there weren’t moist towels or water to keep the other two bouquets fresh in transit. And one of the vases was broken, which was extremely disappointing considering the extra cost.
Now we’ll be honest, arranging UrbanStems flowers is a bit of a craft project—but it’s worth it. (Pro tip: try the viral tape trick.) It’s essential to trim the stems and remove leaves and thorns before you arrange. The thorns on the roses were not removed before shipping, requiring extra care on our end.
Freshness
The Parade and The Juliet bouquets looked a little dry straight out of the box, but they quickly perked up after plopping in a flower food mixture. The peonies were moist and closed upon delivery, offering several days of enjoyment as they blossomed. Flowers were at their peak by day three and started to turn by day nine. Some of the blooms went faster than the rest, including the sunflowers and delphinium. A few of the peonies never opened, but the blooms that did blossom offered an incredible, perfumey aroma.
We were also impressed by the color variety of the peonies, including white, light pink and hot pink. For bountiful arrangements that last more than one week, UrbanStems is an impressive option. The blooms and stems are more diverse than what you can come by at the grocery store. Plus, it’s fun and easy to shop from their large inventory of farm fresh flowers.
Pros
- Curated, modern arrangements for any occasion
- Easy to shop by stem, price or delivery speed
- Multiple arrangement sizes
- Packaging includes care instructions for bouquet
- Fun add-ons available like candy or candles
- Flower subscription available
- Some houseplants available
- Variety of delivery dates available
- Delivery fee is calculated before checkout
Cons
- Have to arrange the flowers yourself, but that’s half the fun
- Vase costs extra; one tester’s vase arrived broken
- Packaging produced a considerable amount of waste
FAQ
Where do UrbanStems come from?
UrbanStems works directly with their Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. This ensures only the freshest stems and blooms are picked every day, making this flower delivery service a trustworthy destination to order flowers online.
Is UrbanStems reliable?
Whether you’re scheduling a special delivery or need next-day delivery, UrbanStems offers a variety of delivery dates to accommodate most shipments.
How do UrbanStems arrive?
Flowers arrive wrapped in a protective covering inside a cardboard box with care instructions and flower food. Bouquets are pre-arranged, but it’s necessary to remove excess leaves and trim the stems before placing them in a vase with water and flower food.
VIA MERCHANT
We Tried It
UrbanStems
This modern flower delivery service is a one-stop shop for impeccable arrangements curated for every occasion: birthdays, engagement parties, accomplishments and more.
All About Bouqs
The Bouqs Co delivers responsibly sourced, farm-fresh flowers straight to your door, cutting out middlemen and unnecessary handling along the way. Similar to UrbanStems, it’s easy to shop by occasion, flower type, color or speed, like if you need same or next-day delivery. If there’s one word we found in our Bouqs review to describe the service, it’s timeless. Flowers look like they were picked fresh from a garden that same day, and you get to watch them bloom for well over a week.
How We Tested Bouqs
With three hands-on testers, including myself, we each evaluated and rated Bouqs flowers based on online ordering experience, packaging and delivery, assembly and arranging, freshness over 10 days and overall value. We tested three different bouquets for our Bouqs review: the Farmer’s Choice Peonies (one size available), the Rose Gold bouquet in deluxe and the Dream Date arrangement (one size available). The rose gold bouquet features an array of sunflower, peach carnations and roses while the dream date features a mix of pink roses, poppies and stargazer lilies. Note: the peony and rose gold bouquets are both in-season arrangements that are only available for a limited time during the year.
Packaging and Delivery
Our Bouqs flowers arrived in mid-December. The bouquets were carefully packaged inside a cardboard box. Just like UrbanStems, this delivery style is standard. Half the fun is getting to arrange the flowers yourself. The flowers include food, care instructions and a vase for an extra fee.
All three bouquets arrived wrapped with a plastic covering. I was a little disappointed the peonies weren’t wrapped in cardboard paper like they were with UrbanStems. Additionally, the flower boxes weren’t directly handed to us but rather left on the porch or in a mail room. One tester notes, “Frankly, I’m not sure my rose gold bouquet was wrapped well enough to survive any time on the porch.” Nevertheless, we were able to unbox the flowers a few hours after they arrived.
Assembly and Arranging
Now for the fun part: arranging! The rose gold and dream date bouquets featured roses. These blooms were thorn-free, which was impressive. Additionally, some leaves on all three bouquets required removal, and the stems needed trimming before plopping in a vase with a flower food mixture.
Overall, our Bouqs arrangements appeared more “neat” upon arrival compared to Urban Stems. Minimal leaf removal was required. The peonies, however, didn’t boast a tri-color assortment like the UrbanStems peonies. This bouquet included a mixture of light pink and white peonies only.
Freshness
Once the flowers were arranged, their overall look—and smell—was impressive. For the most part, the beauty of the pictures online translated in real life, although we would’ve liked to see a few more sunflowers in the Rose Gold bouquet. Sunflowers are listed first in this arrangement, so the name is a bit misleading. The peonies started to bloom within a day or two, but some of the white petals began to wilt faster than the light pink blooms.
All three testers agreed that their arrangements looked better on day three than the day they arrived. This allowed for several days of enjoyment and showing off to friends and family. Despite some poppy petals wilting and a couple of peony buds not blooming, our bouquets stayed in beautiful condition until day 10 of testing.
Pros
- Responsibly-sourced, farm-fresh flowers
- Curated arrangements for specific occasions
- Easy to shop by flower type, occasion or delivery speed
- Multiple arrangement sizes
- Packaging includes care instructions for bouquet
- Flower subscription available
- Some houseplants available
- Special holiday packages are available, which include flowers and a gift
- Minimal packaging waste produced
Cons
- Have to arrange the flowers yourself, but that’s half the fun
- Vase costs extra
- $25 delivery fee; and up-charge for weekend delivery
- Delivery days fill up fast for holidays, so order several weeks ahead
FAQ
Was Bouqs on Shark Tank?
Bouqs’ founder and CEO, John Tabis, appeared on Shark Tank in 2014, but he didn’t walk away with an offer. The business still blossomed and is the top four most successful businesses on Shark Tank’s top 15 list by lifetime sales.
How long do Bouqs flowers last?
According to our Bouqs review, flowers last more than one week. While some blooms were on their way out by day nine, the bouquet remained in beautiful condition for almost two whole weeks.
How are Bouqs flowers delivered?
Bouqs flowers arrive wrapped in a protective covering inside a cardboard box along with two food flower packets. Remove excess leaves and trim the stems of the pre-arranged bouquet before placing it in a vase with flower food.
VIA MERCHANT
We Tried It
The Bouqs Co
Flowers from Bouqs are responsibly sourced from farms, meaning there's less time spent in transit and more time spent blossoming in your home. They're ideal for special occasions and ordinary days alike.
The Bottom Line
After reviewing both UrbanStems and Bouqs, we can confidently say you can’t go wrong with either service. Both services provide reliable, fresh flowers picked straight from sustainable farms. This ensures longer-lasting arrangements, so you (or a loved one) can enjoy beautiful bouquets for well over one week. For peonies, however, we were more impressed by the color assortment and overall freshness of UrbanStems vs Bouqs.
Additionally, the following factors may help guide your decision-making. When shopping on The Bouqs website, we noticed delivery dates fill up fast. We recommend scheduling flower delivery several weeks before the actual date—specifically for popular occasions like Valentine’s Day. If sending flowers last-minute, limited bouquets are available, but there are still a handful of wonderful arrangements. The Bouqs delivery fee is more expensive than UrbanStems. We appreciate that UrbanStems calculates the delivery fee before entering the shipping information, providing a transparent picture from the start.
As for overall look and freshness? Compared to Bouqs, the UrbanStems flowers are not as “neat.” They made more of a mess and required more stem and leaf trimming. We also found the Bouqs online picture to be more accurate. The UrbanStems bouquets included many more greens (aka filler) than pictured. Keep in mind that giftees will need to prep the flowers once their blooms arrive, which may not be your best bet if sending them as a sympathy gift.
Overall, the value and price of UrbanStems and Bouqs are somewhat comparable to ordering flowers from a local florist. They’re reliable destinations for long-lasting, bountiful arrangements whether you’re hosting a dinner party or want to put a smile on a loved one’s face.
Originally Published: February 01, 2024
