There will be hundreds of red roses in Whanganui for the Red Cross annual fundraiser on November 3.
Organiser Trudy Taylor said there will be 1200 blooms arriving from growers in Christchurch the day before the appeal.
"Red Cross branches all over New Zealand are holding their own Red Rose Days around the country so we spread the demand around different growers," said Mrs Taylor.
"The majority of them will be pre-ordered and we deliver the bunches for free to homes and work places in Whanganui."
Roses can be ordered in bunches of six for $10 or a dozen for $20 and they will be available from street sellers in bunches of three for $5 or single blooms for $1.
All proceeds from rose sales will be used to support Red Cross work in Whanganui and Mrs Taylor said there is an exciting new project this year.
"We plan to distribute a first aid resource for children to all the pre-schools and new entrant classes in Whanganui," she said.
Kiri and the Emergency/Kiri me te Aitua is a narrative picture book for 3 to 6-year-olds that tells the story of Kiri, a young girl who knows what to do when her grandmother has a fall.
The book was developed in response to the Canterbury earthquakes and is intended to build children's understanding of danger and what to do in an emergency.
The money raised also helps with other local Red Cross activities like first aid and baby CPR classes as well as emergency support for natural disasters.
The red rose has been a symbol of Red Cross for many years and the organisation has a specially-bred rose named Rose of Humanity.
Roses can be pre-ordered from the Red Cross Book shop at 110 Guyton St or by email at wanganui.branch@redcross.org.nz