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DAYTON — They call it a "one-day" holiday.

For countless area florists, Valentine's Day is hands-down the single busiest day of the year.

"Mother's Day is more like Mother's Day week, Christmas lasts the entire month, but everybody wants their Valentine's Day flowers on the 14th. No earlier. No later, " said Rick Moritz owner of Tommy Tucker Flower Shop and director of the Dayton Floral Delivery system.

All told, more than 1,400 deliveries are expected to hit the road in the Miami Valley region Wednesday.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Tucker's delivery system has set up shop with flower wholesaler the Cleveland Plant & Flower Company on Farr Drive.

For the 13 area florists who use the 30-year-old delivery method — "it's a happy marriage," Tucker said.

For consumers, he said, it means fresher flowers at a decent price.

"What this (delivery system) does is makes florists responsible for only two or three ZIP codes instead of running around the entire area," Tucker explained. "And now the biggest plus for us working with a wholesaler is that we can buy product directly from Cleveland Plant ... which saves us even more time and money."

For Diana Roberts, owner of Kettering-based Hills and Dales, the savings have been crucial.

"I'm just flabbergasted when I imagine what it would cost in labor and gas if we had to deliver all over the place," Roberts said. "There's just no way we could absorb the costs into what amounts to a $5 or $6 delivery charge."

Contact the reporter at (937) 225-2147 or lbernard@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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Valentine's Day by the numbers

63.4 percent of consumers are planning to celebrate the holiday.

$119.67 the average consumers are expected to spend on gifts.

$156.22 the average a male is anticipated to spend.

$85.08 the average a female is expected to spend.

$16.90 billion is expected to be spent nationally.

Source: The National Retail Federation