ELMIRA (AP) -- A wholesale flower grower that's been in the Southern Tier for over a century has closed its doors.

Elmira Floral Products in Elmira Heights said yesterday was the business' last day.

Peter Lowman, great-grandson of the company's founder, says its been a five-year struggle. He says they were competing with wholesalers that imported flowers instead of growing them in-house. Elmira Floral grew several varieties of flowers in the greenhouses behind its building until energy prices became too costly.

Lowman says the availability of floral arrangements in grocery stores and big box retailers stole sales from the retail flower shops his company supplied.

At its peak, Elmira Floral Products employed about 40 workers. That number had shrunk to six.

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