What does flower grade mean?

Different flowers can have different flower grades depending on various qualities.

In the commercial cut flower industry, most flowers and foliages are graded in various ways to indicate the quality and size of the flower. 

Most flowers with long stems take longer to produce than the same flower with a short stem. This is why many varieties, including roses, are graded by stem length. Large orchids such as Cymbidium and Phalaenopsis are graded by the number of blooms on the stem. Every flower is graded in a way that reflects the pertinent parameters that define quality. Ranunculus and Anemones for instance are graded by the size of the flower, whilst many hydrangeas are graded by both size of bloom and stem length.

Each flower is also graded according to the quality of the inflorescence, with particular attention to defects such as disease, damage to petals, crooked stems, weak stems. In general terms, the grading of flowers allows buyers to know the quality they can expect from any given floral product. The better the quality, the larger the flower and the longer the stem, all provide the basis for higher prices than flowers of lesser quality.