For someone on the mend

Get well flowers in NYC, for the hospital bed or the couch

Mount Sinai is up the avenue from our shop at 96th and Madison, and nearly everyone in there would rather be home. Flowers can't arrange that. They can make the room look a lot less like a hospital.

Sending to a hospital? The address matters as much as the flowers, so start with the checklist.

Shop orchids and plantsor call 212-289-1677

The hospital checklist

A hospital is a small city with its own front desk, so have these ready at checkout. We call the hospital to confirm every delivery, and we can't deliver until we have a room number and they're able to receive the flowers. If they can't be found yet, we keep calling until the flowers can be delivered.

Their full name, as the hospital has it. "Uncle Sal" isn't on the patient list.
The hospital's name, the room number, and the area or wing. Don't know them? Ask the family.
A phone number for them or someone with them, plus yours.
Sending it today? Order by 1 PM ET; hospital front desks can stop taking deliveries in the late afternoon.
Call the unit first. Intensive care, cancer and transplant floors, recovery rooms, labor and delivery and newborn nurseries often allow no flowers, and some hospitals treat plants the same way.
Sending it home instead? You'll need the home address and the day they'll be back.

What we'd send

Something sunny, or something with roots

For get well flowers in NYC, we'd start with Sunburst: yellow callas and ranunculus, about as close to sunshine as a bedside table gets. For something with roots, the Double Orchid comes in a clay pot, white or black ceramic, or a glass cube.

See all get well flowers

Hospitals near our corner

Here's where the big hospitals sit, from 100th Street down to the East 60s. Each has its own rules; our hospital delivery guide lists them hospital by hospital.

Mount SinaiAround 100th Street, a few blocks north. Visiting? Pickup at our shop is free, 9:30 AM to 7 PM on weekdays and 10 AM to 6 PM on weekends.
Metropolitan HospitalFirst Avenue at 97th Street, a few blocks east.
Lenox Hill HospitalEast 77th Street, in the neighborhood that shares its name.
NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill CornellEast 68th Street, in the middle of Lenox Hill.
Hospital for Special SurgeryEast 70th Street, two blocks up from Weill Cornell.
Memorial Sloan KetteringAround East 68th Street, near Weill Cornell.
Recovering at homeDelivered to their door: $15 in Manhattan, $25 in Brooklyn or Queens.

Before you send them

What if the unit says no to flowers?

Send them home instead. Use the home address and choose the delivery date at checkout. If the discharge date isn't certain, the day after is the safer bet. For someone after a transplant or on chemo, ask the family first: some care teams ask for no fresh flowers or plants at home either. If they aren't home yet when we get there, we call the phone number you gave for them at checkout, then call you, to set up a later delivery.

Flowers or an orchid plant?

For a few days in the hospital, a bright arrangement. For a long stay, or weeks of recovery at home, an orchid plant, if the unit allows plants.

Can the flowers reach the hospital today?

For a hospital, order by 1 PM ET for same-day delivery: hospital front desks can stop taking deliveries in the late afternoon. Ordered after 1 PM? We'll still try to fit it in, so call the shop right after you order and we'll check it can go out today. For Brooklyn and Queens, checkout confirms same-day by zip code; if it won't confirm today, call and we'll check.

What should the card say?

Keep it short and in your own voice; they may read it half-asleep. An inside joke works. Questions about test results can wait. The card is printed and free with every order, and the shop can handwrite it on request.

More from the shop

Rather talk it over?

Call the shop. Tell us who it's for, where they are and how long they'll be there, and we'll suggest what fits. 212-289-1677

Try the Floral Advisor