(MONEY Magazine) – Ordering flowers can be a lot like going on a first date: You never know exactly what to expect. Whether you call a shop out of the Yellow Pages to have roses sent to the other side of town or walk into your favorite florist and order a bouquet for someone on the other side of the country, there's no way of knowing for sure what the object of your generosity will receive; you're just tapping into a network of florists who fulfill one another's orders.

Given this setup, it seems only natural that the flower business would grow online and that it has become one of the top retail categories on the Web. But is going to the Net any better than ordering by phone? Well, I'm no shrinking violet when it comes to sending flowers, so I decided to take a look.

Turns out there are about 300 online florists, from general providers to niche sites for things like Hawaiian leis and-- memorably--dead black roses for enemies (www.revengeunlimited.com, if you're into that kind of thing).

As I surfed around to narrow the field, I got a sense of the pros and cons for the online flower shopper. On the plus side, online service charges generally undercut those of phone orders (though not by much--usually $2 to $4). Also, the sites let you browse online catalogues with pictures, a godsend for floral illiterates. Finally, if you're like me, there's the distinct advantage of not having to dictate a personal card message to some stranger.

The drawbacks? You have to choose from the few dozen arrangements offered by the sites, so if you want four lilies and two daffodils, forget it. I also found the process can easily take longer than ordering by phone.

Eventually, after looking at a bunch of sites, with an eye toward price, selection, ease of use and extra features, I cut the choices down to three. Then I tried out each of these services with a two-part test. Scenario one: I decided to see what sort of spring bouquet each site would give me for about $35; to compare the real thing with the online pictures, I'd have them sent to colleagues at our New York City office. Scenario two: I'd request same-day deliveries in three cities, to see if this Web process could be relied on in a crunch.

FTD (www.ftd.com)

The site: This was the easiest to navigate--although, like the others, it offers no way to search for specific flowers. Extras include free e-mail reminders, a card cheat sheet called Quotable Sentiments and a link to flower meanings (FYI: snapdragons mean desperation).

The service charge: $5.95, compared with the $9.95 FTD charges for phone orders

The flowers: About five hours after I ordered FTD's "Sunshine Daydream" for $32.95, it arrived in our office. Though it was the biggest of the spring bouquets we got, it was panned by our informal panel as cheaper looking, with a "funeral-like" arrangement. A few (male) panelists defended it on the basis of sheer flower volume.

The delivery: My first problem was who should be the recipient of my flowers, since I didn't really have, say, a girlfriend. Hmmm. Running out of time, I decided to send some to my ex-girlfriend Krys in San Diego.

The FTD site's Most Popular Choices section displayed about a dozen bouquets and, under the circumstances, I opted for one called "Stay in Touch." The site promised white, yellow and purple flowers such as liatris, lilies and (I admit) snapdragons in a wicker basket. Also included: a Sprint calling card. Like other bouquets here, it came in three sizes; I went for the middle version, for $44.95.

The order form was easy to use. For the card, I resorted to the Quotable Sentiments and picked an ambiguous Cole Porter lyric. The process took about 25 minutes, probably twice as long as I would have spent on the phone.

I ordered the flowers at 11:30 a.m., and by 3:30 p.m., they had arrived. Krys called, using the Sprint card, to say she liked them except for the "hideous wicker thing" they came in. Right, she doesn't like wicker. Forgot about that.

1-800-FLOWERS (www.1800flowers.com)

The site: This is the most intricate of the sites and also a little more difficult to navigate. But there are floral care tips, a frequent-flier program with United and an e-mail reminder service. Still, a lot of the information is superfluous. For example, the section on feng shui, the trendy "Chinese art of placement and design," suggests you buy more flowers "to mask unsightly objects and views." Uh, right.

The service charge: $5.99, three dollars cheaper than phone orders

The flowers: For the office delivery, we chose "Fields of Europe--Spring" for $34.99, which arrived in 3 1/2 hours. Most panelists agreed this was the most tasteful (and expensive-looking) bouquet, with baby roses, sunflowers and, significantly, no carnations--a cheaper flower often used as filler.

The delivery: Once again I was reminded of the ugly truth of my single status. Once again, I resorted to an ex, Melissa, who lives in Las Vegas. For her, I could only choose exotic flowers (long story). So I ordered the "Tropical Paradise" bouquet for $64.99. It was the most expensive batch I sent out--which is too bad, because it was the only one that was late.

The order was placed at 11:30 a.m. my time. Between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Vegas time, Melissa got two messages that the local florist couldn't find her house and she should call by 7. She got home at 6:10 and called, giving directions to a delivery man who said he was on his way. No one showed. A little after 11 o'clock that night, the phone rang. It was the delivery guy. Apologetic, he asked what time she wanted him to show up tomorrow. "Anytime after 10:30 a.m.," she said. The doorbell rang at 10:20 a.m. It was the flowers. Melissa's current boyfriend Stephen happened to answer the door. Oh, well.

THE FLOWER CLUB (www.flowerclub.com)

The site: The unique angle here is that for every order, you get frequent-flier miles from one of eight airlines. But this site was the least user-friendly and offered the smallest selection.

The service charge: $6.95, compared with $8.95 to $9.95 by phone

The flowers: The $35 "Breath of Spring" arrived about 3 1/2 hours after it was ordered. The consensus: The arrangement was nice but overpriced for its size and not much like the photo.

The delivery: Okay. Here we go again. No girlfriend. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I turned to Megan, my high school sweetheart, who, as it happens, now lives in New York City.

On this site, you click on either Featured Specials or the Select by Occasion link, which lets you choose from seven categories (get well, and so forth). I clicked on General and picked the "Rainy Day Bouquet" for $30 because, well, it was raining.

The form was pretty standard but had an awkward message card section, forcing you to cut and edit your message into four small boxes. I finally managed it and made the buy at 11:30 a.m. (snagging 500 TWA miles).

At 2 p.m., Megan called. She loved the flowers. Did they look like the ones online? She looked at the site and said that some substitutions had been made but that she actually liked hers more. Her only question: "Are you free for drinks?"

How'd she guess?

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