Guwahati, Feb. 13: The picture's rosy this Valentine's Day, never mind the pocket pinch! The demand for roses in Cupid-struck Northeast is pushing the four-lakh mark this season despite higher prices triggered by unfavourable weather.

'The higher prices have not affected the demand for roses in the region though, which is between three and four lakh roses this season, a good chunk of which is for Valentine's Day,' Ankur Mukherjee, deputy general manager of Zopar Exports Pvt Ltd, a leading flower producer and exporter, told The Telegraph today.

Extreme weather conditions in the Northeast, characterised by higher daytime temperatures and colder nights, have hit production, leading florists to procure flowers from western India. A temperature between 15 and 30 degrees is ideal for roses.

'The average temperature has dropped to as low as five degrees at night, which delays the budding process. This has led to what we call a 'plant shock' with only two stems flowering per plant every month as opposed to four or five. So we had to procure roses from Pune and Nasik, leading to higher cost and subsequently higher retail prices,' Mukherjee said.

The retail price of a long-stemmed (40cm) rose ranges between Rs 20 and Rs 50 in the city this season, higher than what it was last year.

The past two weeks, with Rose Day in between, have been relatively hectic for florists. 'In demand are the Taj roses (longer stems and larger buds) from Bangalore. Sales have picked up in the past two weeks,' said Ravi Agarwal of Ferns N Petals.

An international agri-horti show since Tuesday is also infusing vigour to the spirits, wooing young and old alike to about 100 stalls. 'Almost half the stock of rose plants was sold in the first two days and we expect the rest to exhaust by tomorrow,' said Mridul Konwar, who runs a nursery at Jagiroad in Morigaon district.