Giving roses on Valentine’s Day is a classic gesture, giving fresh roses means something more than stopping by the corner deli. It means paying a visit to local rose grower Dr. Michael Barry, proprietor of Rose Meadow Flower Farm, New York state’s last commercial rose growing operation.

A veteran of the Union Square Greenmarket since 1983, Dr. Barry raises Hybrid Tea roses that are cut the morning they’re sold, a rarity in the flower business. “Our roses do what they are supposed to do. They are fragrant, colorful, and open magnificently, with no preservatives,” Dr. Barry said, on sunny, 20-degree day, his hands wrapped around a cup of deli coffee.

And such things do make a difference. “At the greenmarket, people would stop and ask if they could smell the flowers,” he said. “‘It’s free,’ I’d say. Later, I’d ask, ‘Why not buy some?’ Customers would complain that every time they buy roses, they droop. I gave one woman three to try, for free, and told her to put them in hot water. She did it and came back with a smile on her face. ‘The roses were so beautiful all weekend,’ she said, ‘I took the petals off and put them in a bowl for potpourri. I saw the golden eye in the center because it opened completely.’ That’s the classic response.”

Dr. Barry, 57, has a doctorate in entomology from Ohio State University and left the corporate world for roses. Standing next to buckets of bright orange-, yellow-, and champagne-colored buds at the Greenmarket recently, in a parka, blue jeans, a Hawaii Volcanoes National Park baseball cap, and duck shoes, Dr. Barry lamented the threat that the globalization of the rose business poses to his trade.

“Historically, there was a demand for flowers in the city,” he said, “so on Long Island there were flower farms that produced for the city, like Floral Park. In the late 1800s you’d see huge fields of flowers. In the late 1960s and ’70s, flowers were imported from California — a cheaper product. By 1985, they were all coming from South America.”

The imports then led to a drop in retail prices: “In five to 10 years, they put the domestic rose growers out of business.”

The ultimate result, Dr. Barry said, was that roses became devalued, especially around Valentine’s Day — despite that fact that the price spikes the week before it. “People buy these imports, they get two dozen that don’t smell, they don’t open, and the necks droop the minute you put them in water. The consequence is that the consumer gets disappointed.”

And where’s the joy in that? “That’s no way to show your valentine you love him or her,” he said. “My roses are the antidote to this.”

His roses are also the answer to formal occasions. When Prince Charles visited New York last month with his wife, the Dutchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles, he attended a reception at the Harvard Club, where he accepted the Global Environmental Citizen Award, given annually by Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment.

A bouquet of Dr. Barry’s champagne-colored Hybrid Tea roses were presented to the Dutchess. And the personal who made it happen was one of Dr. Barry’s longtime customers, Mary Cleaver, of the Cleaver Company, a catering company that focuses on local and environmentally sustainable cuisine. Ms. Cleaver was one of the chefs for the event and helped coordinate table settings and flowers. “For the Dutchess of Cornwall, it is royal protocol that she be given a bouquet of posies by a young girl,” Ms. Cleaver said, “Since the rose is New York’s state flower, Dr. Barry’s local, sustainably grown flowers, grown using ‘bio-rational practice,’ as he calls it, seemed apropos.”

The best way to buy Dr. Barry’s roses is to take a trip to Union Square. His stall is usually set up on the northwest corner, facing Union Square West. A dozen roses range from $20 to $50 depending on the season and the packaging. “We’ll be down here at the Greenmarket on Valentine’s Day and on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, as we almost always are,” he said. The roses can also be purchased by calling the farm at 631-207-7777 or emailing info@localrose.com.

And don’t be surprised when the fragrance makes your valentine swoon. It gives me personal satisfaction to grow a flower worthy of the name,” Mr. Barry said. “It’s not even that the imports don’t smell as sweet, they just don’t have any fragrance at all.”