If we're to believe the advertising we get at this time of year, a man completely fails on Valentine's Day if he doesn't show up and hand his sweetheart a bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed roses, no matter what else he's bought or planned for the evening.

Apparently, those who grow, ship, and sell roses really want to drive home the message that it's not Valentine's Day unless someone gets roses.

If flowers really are the way to truly express your feelings of love, why go with roses when you could (if money were no object) find other flowers that are far more rare and expensive? According to FlowerAura.com, these are the 3 of the most expensive flowers in the world:

Kadupul Flower - Epiphyllum oxypetalum, Night-Blooming Cereus.
Kadupul Flower (Getty Images)
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The Kadapul Flower, "native to Sri Lanka, is actually a cactus and only blooms at night. The flower is priceless as it cannot be sold due to its short life span, and it is so rare." Cost: priceless.

Juliet rose closeup
The Juliet Rose. (Getty Images)
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The Juliet Rose. You can thank Davis Austin, "who invested 15 years in growing the Juliet Rose, sold it for a whopping amount of $15.8 million, making it the most expensive flower."

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Shenzhen Nongke Orchid (Getty Images)
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Shenzhen Nongke Orchid. "...is on the list of most expensive flowers in the world because of its beauty, rarity, background and difficulty in cultivation." Cost: $200,000.

Getting back to roses...(Getty Images)
Getting back to roses...(Getty Images)
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I Think It's Safe To Assume That Very Few, If Any Women In Illinois Will Be On The Receiving End Of Any Of Those "Most Expensive Flowers In The World"

Plus, no matter how much the average price for a dozen long-stemmed roses is in Illinois or anywhere else, those roses are going to be a bargain compared to a $15 million single rose.

Financial information site FinanceBuzz.com recently ran the numbers and crunched the data to come up with their list of the average cost of a dozen long-stemmed roses in every state, and the good news for those of us in the Land of Lincoln is that we're far from being the most expensive. That honor goes to Hawaii, where that dozen roses will cost, on average, $128.65.

Here are the numbers from Illinois, and our neighboring states:

    • Illinois: $78.33
    • Wisconsin: $78.99
    • Iowa: $88.98
    • Missouri: $81.66
    • Indiana: $90.00
    • Kentucky: $94.66
    • Minnesota: $93.33

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