UrbanStems flower delivery review: sustainably sourced, beautiful bouquets

Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider, Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.Giving flowers on Mother's Day is a time-honored tradition, though many of us have horror stories of buying arrangements online, only for them to turn out to be mediocre bouquets in person.UrbanStems wants to close the gap, making the process of ordering beautiful flowers a seamless, pleasant experience for both the buyer and the recipient.The company offers affordable floral bouquets and plants (starting as low as $35) sourced from ethical farms around the world. Arrangements are created by in-house floral designers and delivered straight to your door in just one day.We've both given and received flowers from UrbanStems and think it's the perfect Mother's Day gift. Keep reading to learn more about the service, or check out the rest of our Mother's Day gift guides for more inspiration.This Mother's Day, millions of flowers will be wrapped into beautiful bouquets and sent to moms nationwide. Gifting flowers is a timeless tradition — and for good reason. A nice bouquet of flowers is beautiful to look at, smells wonderfully refreshing, and actually has the power to make us happier. Giving flowers should be a simple process, yet for many of us, it's not. You may not have time to go into your local flower shop and have a bouquet made, or your florist just might not have time to put together a bouquet with such short notice. You could order one online, but you've heard too many horror stories of botched bouquets bought on the internet. With Mother's Day fast approaching, we figured it was high time to tell you about UrbanStems, the company many of us personally use to order flowers for our friends and loved ones. This flower-delivery service was born out of the same concerns many of us have about ordering flowers online — there's a lack of trust, awareness, and transparency that makes it difficult to know what we're really getting into. UrbanStems founder Ajay Kori was fed up with sending flowers as gifts. Every experience he had doing so ended in catastrophe. Instead of giving up on the gesture altogether, Kori enlisted his college classmate to try and fix the floral industry.What they've created is an easier, more affordable way to order beautiful flowers online — one that ensures your bouquets actually are delivered in time for those special moments. How the service worksWhen you head over to the UrbanStems, you'll find a small but diverse selection of bouquets. UrbanStems is a member of the fewer, better camp, which is reflected in their selection — a few beautifully-crafted bouquets and potted plants, rather than a mass of mediocre arrangements. All of the flowers and plants are sourced from sustainable farms, which UrbanStems' in-house floral designers collaborate with to create unique bouquets. With prices that start at $35, UrbanStems is a pretty affordable option as well. Once you've picked which bouquet you like, put in your desired delivery address and choose from the delivery date options listed. UrbanStems provides a calendar that shows which delivery dates are available, as well as notes when the bouquet will be back in stock if it has been sold out. UrbanStems also suggests vases that compliment each bouquet, should you want to spend a little extra to send a vase as well. Moving to checkout is simple. UrbanStems has you sign up with your email so they can inform you on the status of your order. Then all you have to do is fill out the delivery information, and my favorite part — a cute note to go with your flowers. If you're stumped, UrbanStems has some sweet prewritten options for you, but you can completely customize this part on your own.One of the best parts of UrbanStems is its simple delivery process.UrbanStems bouquets can be delivered anywhere in the US — if you're living outside of the US but want to send flowers to someone who does live here, you can do that, too. If your recipient lives in DC or NYC, an UrbanStems courier will deliver their flowers by bicycle or car, any day of the week. If your recipient lives anywhere else in the US, your order will get free one-day FedEx delivery, which can only be delivered Tuesday-Friday — something to note if you're planning for flowers to be delivered for a specific occasion.These quick delivery options make UrbanStems a great last-minute gifting option, but you can also use it to plan gifts far in advance. If you know you want to deliver someone flowers for their birthday in a month, you can order bouquets up to three weeks out from the current date. When your recipient receives their flowers, they'll be packaged up in a beautiful box that's hiding a lovely bouquet and a sweet note from you. It's thoughtful and easy way to surprise someone special and make them smile. Whether it's your partner, sister, brother, parent, friend, or coworker, UrbanStems makes a great gift for just about any occasion.If you'd like to know more about the experience, here's what two of our editors have to say about UrbanStem's service:Sally Kaplan, Insider Picks editor: I've now both ordered and received bouquets from UrbanStems, and both experiences felt seamless and rewarding. Sending bouquets is easy; you just pick which one you want, select a vase (these cost a little extra, just so you know), and write a card to your recipient. Receiving them is even easier; just open the box, follow the instructions to care for your flowers, and, if you're anything like me, pop the special note that comes with on your refrigerator door with a magnet. If you properly take care of the flowers, they'll last for around a week or so. I got a bouquet with lots of white flowers in it, which tend to age a little faster, so mine lasted about four or five days before they started to wilt and discolor.Ellen Hoffman, Insider Picks director of editorial content strategy: I was looking for a new flower-delivery service a few months ago since my go-to, BloomThat, was acquired by FTD Companies and paused its services in September 2018. Sally recommended UrbanStems. So far, I've ordered two bouquets from the company and have found it offers a lot of the same conveniences as BloomThat, for both the person buying the flowers and the recipient. The constantly rotating, seasonal-flower selection is robust, but not overwhelming, and while the prices are on the higher end ($55 is currently the cheapest bouquet price), they're justified by the quality you get. The flowers I've sent were vibrant and fresh, and more unique than what you'll find elsewhere.Surprise the mother figure in your life with a flower bouquet or plant from UrbanStems this Mother's Day.Read more Mother's Day gift guides from Insider Picks30 inexpensive, but thoughtful Mother's Day gifts under $2527 unique Mother's Day gifts you can find on Uncommon Goods35 unique Mother's Day gifts new moms will undoubtedly appreciate