This is truly flower power

A  gift for a birthday or Valentines’, a gesture to express love or to say ‘I’m sorry’, flowers have always been a convenient go-to as a gift. A pleasure for the eyes and the nose, they are but a temporary luxury. And the more rare the flower, the more expensive this short-lived gift becomes. Although it is not best to buy too cheaply when trying to woo someone with a bouquet, the following list pushes the financial boundaries far beyond the reach of your average romantic gesture.

Orchids, lilies, moonflowers and 100-year-old ficus bouquet
Sometimes, for a special occasion, one may want the perfect combination of flowers for a bouquet. You can have the perfect bridal bouquet but for a price. A mix of orchids, lilies, moonflowers and 100-year-old ficus, the bouquet also has a 21.6-carat star ruby, nine one-carat diamonds and 90 two-carat rubies. It’s no wonder then that the bouquet costs £80,000 (Rs 65,91,876.94).

Shenzhen Nongke Orchid
While orchids have always been considered to be a mark of luxury, the Shenzhen Nongke Orchid, which was perfected over a period of eight years is meant for the crème-de-la-crème. This purple and yellow blossom is the most expensive flower to have been sold at an auction, at approximately £1,60,000 (Rs 3,18,3753.88). Its price is not just for its rarity and the difficult process of cultivation, but also its atypical mix of colours. For those who are adventurous foodies, the orchid is also said to have its own delicate taste. 

Juliet Rose
A  rose by any other name may smell just as sweet but it definitely won’t burn a hole in your pocket the likes of what a Juliet Rose is likely to do. The rose made its debut in 2006 at the Chelsea flower show and David Austin took as many as 15 years to create this perfect peach-toned blossom. The rose, known for its layered structure and creamy colour, was sold in 2006 for as much as £10 million (Rs 8,23,98,461.74)!

Saffron crocus
A  seemingly innocuous light mauve blossom, the saffron crocus is actually more expensive than gold. The bright red stigma that each flower has needs to be removed painstakingly from each blossom, just so that it can be used to make a special kind of spice. As it stands, the flower comes at £760 (`62,622.83) to £900 (Rs 74,158.62) per pound. India is actually one of the major producers of the flower and saffron, so you may walk away with a bit more of a reasonable purchase here than abroad. 

Gold of Kinabalu Orchid
While the prices of some flowers go up because of how much work goes into creating the particular strain, others come for whopping prices because of their rarity. The Gold of Kinabalu orchid is one such example. This endangered species, with delicate green and red striped petals, can only be found in a fenced-off section in Kinabalu National Park in Malaysia. The plant takes over 15 years to flower and the fact that it is near extinction may push the prices up even more. As it stands, the flower costs £3,800 (Rs 3,13,114.15).