Cool, Damp Weather May Help Certain Flowers Last Longer This Mother's Day

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Flowers are a favorite Mother's Day gift, and this year's cool, damp weather may actually make some the perfect present.

As CBS2's Elise Finch reports, the weather helps some flowers last longer.

For many people, Mother's Day means flowers.

"Lots of red flowers," one man said.

"Typically tulips, because it's springtime, they're beautiful," a woman added.

"My mom's a big planter, so begonias in the garden," another said.

Yossi Benhamou owns Matles Florist on Manhattan's West Side and says arrangements of spring flowers, like tulips, lilacs, peonies and roses are always his biggest seller on Mother's Day. But cut flowers don't last long, so he recommends flowering plants instead.

"Pansies right now are good. New Guinea impatients, geraniums, everything that you can plant outside and basically have them for the rest of the summer," he told Finch.

Benhamou also recommends potted orchid plants that will live in the house for several months. They cost between $85 and $150.

At Eisele's Nursery and Garden Center in Paramus, New Jersey, hanging baskets are in high demand.

"It's nice with the flowers, and all summer long then she can enjoy it," one woman said.

The baskets are filled with colorful and hearty flowers, like pink and purple petunias, yellow bidens, red verbena and multicolor million bells.

"You can get quite an array of color -- different types of plants that bloom all season and they'll go right until frost," co-owner Rick Eisele said.

Some flowers, like azelias, bloomed early and died when the weather got warm late this winter then chilly again this spring. But plenty of other plants fared quite well.

So don't let the chilly weather keep you from buying flowers as a Mother's Day gift, because cooler weather actually extends the bloom time for most flowering plants, Finch reported.

Whether you choose tropical plants, perennials or annuals, the May weather will make mom's gift look lovely longer.

It can cost as little as $5 for a single, bold red geranium, or closer to $40 for a variety of flowers set in a hanging basket.