florists' cash registers ringing in anticipation.

All nine flower sellers contacted yesterday by The Royal Gazette reported brisk trades as Valentine's Day approaches and would-be Cupids get their arrows in order.

If you are looking for long-stemmed red roses, be prepared to pay between $60 and $120 for a dozen due to the increased demand for them around February 14.

At York Street, St. George's, East End Florist manager Catherine McBride said she expected a rush on sales. "Come Saturday and Monday we will get lots of orders''.

The difference between Valentine's Day and most of the other holidays, she said, was that it "all happened on one day while the others, like Christmas, is spread over a few days''.

Items selling well were plush toys, balloons and roses in all different colours along with the "most amazing orchids''. "They are gorgeous,'' she said.

In the old town a box of 12 red roses will cost you $96, a higher price than normal, said Ms McBride, because "wholesalers put theirs up and we have to put ours' up if we are going to make any money''.

At MarketPlace Plaza in Shelly Bay, Gardine's Flowers 'N Things owner Gardine Gibbons said sales were picking up speed because "people wait until the last minute to shop and then bombard you''.

Items going well were the Love Triangle arrangement and the Huggy Bear Vase, she said, but roses were also going well with a dozen costing $90.

On South Shore Road in Devonshire, Bermuda Florist manager Theresa Madeiros reported: "It is our single busiest day of the year. It runs neck and neck with Mother's Day for a while but in the end Valentine's Day tends to outdo it.'' The hottest selling item? Red roses, of course, in bunches of a dozen -- for $120 -- or a half-dozen or, on occasion, singularly.

Nearby at Just Roses on South Shore Road in Paget, manager Julie Mayor said: "People are thinking ahead this year and are ordering in advance. The orders are going out quickly and steadily and Monday is very booked up.'' She agreed Valentine's Day was the busiest time of the year for business and said this was because there was "one day to do it in unlike the other holiday periods''. Roses were her top seller. "It is the flower for Valentine's,'' she said. Here in Paget a dozen red roses in a box cost $80.

Ms Mayor said: "We try to be fair and pass on some savings to our customers.

We all have to pay more for flowers at this time of year and hire more staff but I think $80 is reasonable.'' Florists hope to cash in on flower power Manager Mark Wheddon at Designer Flowers' Heron Bay MarketPlace store -- there is a second outlet in the Windsor Place on Queen Street in Hamilton -- noted that Monday would be THE day.

"We are getting a lot of orders in but we are expecting a lot of sales on the actual day, especially seeing as it falls on a Monday,'' he said.

To cater to the expected high-demand on February 14, Mr. Wheddon said he would stay open past his regular opening hours of 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. until the last customer left the store in a bid to catch all the last minute shoppers heading home to the West End.

He said rose sales were brisk -- a dozen red roses cost $100 -- but arrangements such as the Country Garden were also going well.

In Hamilton, the best deal on long-stemmed red roses was at the newly opened Buds, Beans and Books on the corner of Par-la-Ville Road and Front Street in Hamilton.

There, owner John Casling is offering a dozen red roses for $60 in time for Valentine's Day.

Elsewhere, manager Judy Baum at Demco Floral Services on King Street said: "It's wild in here. We're having a hard time keeping up.'' Red roses were top sellers here also -- a dozen fetches $108 -- but other colours including yellow were also popular, she said.

She pointed to suppliers as the ones upping the costs.

"We try to keep the price down but the supplier kills us. They up the price about a week before Valentine's Day.'' On Reid Street, The Flower Shop Ltd. manager Ian Page said sales were "a little better than last year'' thanks to the big day falling on a Monday.

Having the weekend right before, he said, seemed to encourage people to think further ahead than they might normally do.

"A lot of people do their shopping last minute but, of course, this year we are closed on Sunday.'' The shop was offering specials such as plush bears, balloon bouquets and silk flowers in a bid to cater to people in different circumstances but red roses -- at $120 per dozen -- were going well.

He noted that the demand for roses on February 14 and them being at the bottom of their growing cycle at this time of year were the contributory factors to their high prices.

Sales at Washington Mall's House of Flowers were "absolutely wonderful'', said manager Linda Hanafin.

Roses were selling extremely well at $120 for a dozen and other special items going quickly included plush leopards and a plush alien arrangement with cut flowers and balloons.

But she noted: `Everyone wants roses at Valentine's Day. That's just how it goes.'' WAR OF THE ROSES