Safe (and Unsafe) Flowers to Buy for Valentine’s Day If You Have Pets
Americans are expected to spend a whopping $2.5 billion on flowers this Valentine’s Day. If you’re one of those who are considering such a gift for your beloved, you might want to stop for a moment and think about your beloved’s beloved: Many popular flowers are toxic to dogs and cats. Here’s what you need to know before choosing a bouquet so you don’t have to apologize for visiting the vet later.
Flowers that are dangerous for pets
First, consider whether the intended recipient has a cat or a dog (or both), as they may have different reactions. For example, lilies , a popular choice for Valentine’s Day, can be fatal to cats even in very small quantities, including the plant itself and even the water in which it is placed. Lilies can cause kidney failure, which is often fatal. Lilies are also dangerous to dogs, causing gastrointestinal problems, but they do not pose the same risk to dogs as they do to cats.
Tulips and daffodils , while bright and colorful enough to attract your pet, are toxic to dogs and cats. Both cause gastrointestinal distress, and while tulips typically cause vomiting and drooling, daffodils can even be dangerous: ingesting a daffodil bulb can cause heart problems in animals.
Fragrance is another reason some flowers are popular in bouquets: hyacinth has a strong scent and beautiful shape, but when ingested by dogs and cats it causes severe drooling, vomiting and tremors. Beautifully ruffled and fragrant , peonies cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs.
Chrysanthemums , the giant showy flowers you may know as mommies, are toxic to dogs, causing gastrointestinal problems and poor coordination.
The tall, spiky flowers make a spectacular and unique bouquet, but be careful: gladioli are toxic to both cats and dogs, causing drooling, lethargy and diarrhea. Digitalis is even more dangerous because it causes cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure.
Did you come out too? Amaryllis (gastrointestinal distress, lethargy and tremors), poinsettia (skin and eye irritation, vomiting and drooling) and peace lily (vomiting, drooling and difficulty swallowing).
These flowers are safe for pets.
If you decide to order flowers, there are many more options that are safer for pets. Roses, although perhaps unoriginal, are non-toxic to cats and dogs, and florists routinely remove the thorns from roses, so even this risk is eliminated.
Instead of tulips, consider gerberas—bright, colorful , and pet-safe. Give up the daffodils and embrace the sunflowers . These giant flowers are like sunlight in flower form and are non-toxic to pets and people. The center of the sunflower becomes the seed, and the center can even be grilled or cooked.
If you want to be a little more unique with your flower choices, snapdragons , a spiky alternative to foxgloves and gladioli, are safe and come in a variety of colors. Want something peony scented? Try the rootstock : This affectionately named flower has a strong scent and beautiful flowers on a single stem. Freesias are also fragrant and have beautifully shaped flowers on an arched stem, somewhat reminiscent of an orchid. If you’re looking for a chrysanthemum effect, ask for zinnia. They grow into similar shapes and petal structures with the same color and size. If you want a fantastic and whimsical flower that no one else will have, celosia is non-toxic to pets and comes in both feather and cockscomb shapes.
Of course, if you want to impress a pet parent this Valentine’s Day, you can skip the real flowers altogether and go straight to bribing the most important person in their life.