The number of retail florists establishments also is shrinking — from 23,700-plus in 2001 to 21,700-plus last year — and many in the $19 billion floriculture industry believe there is a direct link to the proliferation of third-party order-gatherers.

"It ends up the florist who is filling the order is having so much money deducted from the order that he is no longer operating at a profit," said Tom Carlson, owner of Fairview Florists in Janesville, Wis. He stopped using the wire services two years ago.

The wire-service market formed 95 years ago as a middleman to help florists in different cities identify and fill out-of-town orders. In recent years, wire services have begun working with and encouraging third-party businesses, who advertise directly to consumers.

Neither the wire services nor many of the third-party businesses are florists. Instead, they gather orders that are funneled to local florists in exchange for a cut of the order.

Typically, a florist who turns in an out-of-town order to a wire service gets a 20 percent commission. The wire service then takes another 7 percent and the florist who actually puts the arrangement together and delivers it gets 73 percent. The florists also pay dues and fees to the wire services that can be another several hundred dollars a month.

Third-party order takers also receive a commission of up to 20 percent. In addition, many charge shipping or handling charges of $2 to $9 per order and receive rebates of between $4 and $6 from the wire services. That can leave well below 73 percent for the florists who actually make the arrangements.

Industry estimates place the number of florist orders from wire services at 20 percent or more — with a quarter to a third of those from third-party order-takers.

Many florists believe this arrangement shortchanges the florists and customers, who wonder why their small bouquet of flowers cost so much.

"The largest problem in the industry is the order-gathering business," said Russ Schmitt, a Louisville florist who is president of the Independent Florists' Association, which has formed an alternative network to the wire services. "It's devastating to the retailers."

The network, which claims thousands of members in all 50 states but declined to be more specific, bypasses the wire services and third-party order-takers. Participating members, who pay modest membership dues and service fees, can either choose an 80 percent/ 20 percent split between the filling and order-sending florists — or allow the florist filling the order to keep all the money.

A spokeswoman for privately held Roll International Corp. in Los Angeles, which owns Teleflora, said company policy prohibits answering media questions. Teleflora connects 24,000 florists.

In the meantime, retail florists are facing another serious threat: Discount retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp., which buy flowers in bulk and sell directly to customers.

Orlando florist Lee James was aghast this week when he walked into a Costco store to find a table of floral designers making up Valentine's arrangements and selling orchids for $9.99. He pays $12.50 each wholesale for those same plants.