*By Lauren Babbage*
Mother's Day is just a few days away, and while you may be scrambling for a last-minute gift, the floral industry has been preparing for months.
"We'll deliver over 12 million stems of flowers. We'll deliver over 150,000 different plants this weekend, said Chris McCann, the CEO of 1-800-Flowers. "Look, mom is important business and if you don't recognize mom on Mother's Day you're going to have a tough year."
Mother's Day, which is on Sunday, May 13, is 1-800-Flowers biggest holiday. Keeping up with certain floral trends this year, the bouquet-on-demand brand is going beyond just tulips and daisies and expanding into succulents, for between $60 and $80.
"We're having a hard time keeping the succulents in inventory." McCann said.
Moms don't just love flowers and plants. 1-800-Flowers' gourmet food business accounts for about 60 percent of annual revenue. McCann said both divisions the company will create more than 20 million gifts per year.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-blooming-business-of-mothers-day).
An Associated Press analysis of more than 130 bills in 40 state legislatures found of the proposals, as introduced or passed, are identical or very similar to some model legislation, the AP found.
The first book in the Harry Potter series hit shelves in 1997. Since then, it’s become a multibillion dollar franchise with multiple books and movies, a theme park, and now an interactive exhibit in New York City. Cheddar’s own Ashley Mastronardi visited earlier this week before it was open to the public.
Cheddar recommends "Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl," "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," "The Mother," "A Man Called Otto," "The Covenant," and "The Great American Recipe."
Alyssa Fox, the first Asian-American to star as Elphaba the witch in Broadway's 'Wicked,' spoke with Cheddar News to discuss how she landed her dream role and the logistics behind her character.