COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Americans will spend a total of $2 billion dollars on flowers this Valentine’s Day. According to the National Retail Federation flowers are the fourth most common gift behind candy, dining out, and an evening out. But when you buy flowers should you go for the less expensive grocery store option, or a florist?

NBC4 bought two similar bouquets at a Columbus florist and a Columbus grocery store and polled 45 people in downtown Columbus, asking which ones looked more expensive. 24 people thought the $25 dollar grocery store flower was the better option. 21 people thought the $45 dollar florist bouquet was more expensive.

To get the real answer, we asked a flower expert.

“There is no difference, flowers are flowers,” said Mary Maloney a horticulturist at The Ohio State University. According to Maloney when it comes to buying flowers for a special someone, there is no real better option, “It’s really a question of freshness and diversity,” Maloney added.

Florists may have a better selection of flowers and those flowers may last longer, according to Maloney, but it all depends on care and how long the flowers have been in cold storage.

To help flowers last longer, Maloney advises lovebirds to change the water every day, and to snip the bottom of the stem a little bit, every day.