Buying guide · Wholesale
How to choose preserved flower grades for wholesale
VivaPetal sorts preserved flower stock into two grades only, Grade A and Grade B, and confirms what each order receives at carton level on the quotation rather than from a general description. This guide sets out what grade actually measures, where Grade A earns its premium, where Grade B is the smarter buy, and how to judge grade before you commit to an order.
What "grade" actually measures
Grade is a sorting standard applied after preservation, not a guess about quality. On a preserved rose head it measures petal integrity and silhouette uniformity: are the petals intact, and does the head read as a clean, even shape? On stems and fillers it measures stem count, spread and how cleanly the material separated from the bunch.
The single thing to internalise: grade is about appearance consistency, not about whether the flower is "real" or "good." A Grade B head is sound stock. It is simply less uniform, and uniform is what you pay for when the petal edge is the product.
Grade A vs Grade B, in practice
| Grade A | Grade B | |
|---|---|---|
| Petals | Intact, even, clean silhouette | Sound, more variation in outline |
| Best use | Where the edge is seen — boxes, domes, frames | Volume work where heads sit shoulder to shoulder |
| Price | Premium tier | Lower, often materially |
| Mixing | Rarely needed with B | Not normally mixed within a carton |
Grades are not normally mixed within a single carton. Confirm the grade split on your quotation so you know what you are receiving per box.
When to specify each grade
Specify Grade A when the petal edge is the product — open boxes, glass domes, shadow frames, anything where a customer inspects the individual head. The uniform silhouette is what makes a piece read as premium, and it is worth the premium there.
Specify Grade B where heads sit shoulder to shoulder and partly hide one another — dense wreaths, moss panels, volume bouquets. A variation in outline that no one can see is money spent for nothing. Many buyers run A on the visible front face and B in the body of the piece.
How grade affects price and minimums
Grade is one input into price; colour and reference are the others. A custom dye in Grade A costs more than the same dye in Grade B, and the minimum order is confirmed per reference rather than set by grade alone. The practical move is to tell your supplier what you want to trial and let them advise the workable minimum — it is usually low enough to test a colour range before committing to volume.
For the full reference data behind these decisions, the rose heads specification and the other family pages list sizes, colour range and packing per grade.
How to judge grade before you commit
Photographs flatten the difference between grades, which is exactly why asking for the same reference in two grades and holding them side by side is the only reliable check. A physical sample also lets you feel the material and confirm the colour against your swatch. The sample box page sets out how trials are charged — at the lowest applicable quantity price, with freight at cost.
Common questions
Grade questions buyers ask
Not in the sense of being defective. Grade B is sound, preserved stock with more variation in petal outline. It is the right buy wherever heads sit shoulder to shoulder and the variation is hidden — paying for Grade A there buys nothing visible.
Grades are not normally mixed within a single carton, but you can absolutely order different grades across cartons — Grade A for the visible front face, Grade B for the body. Confirm the grade split on your quotation so each carton is labelled clearly.
No. Both grades are preserved the same way and last the same 3–5 years indoors under normal conditions (as of October 2026). Grade is about appearance consistency, not lifespan. Care is identical — no watering, out of direct sun, kept dry.
Write the grade into the order and the quotation, and ask for the grade split per carton. A pre-shipment check on petal condition and piece count is part of the standard process; a physical sample retained on file is what keeps re-orders matched to the grade you approved.
Put it into an order
Send your list with the grades you want
References, sizes, colours, grades and destination. We will confirm the practical minimum and the grade split per carton.