Sending flowers to Tampa General Hospital

Tampa General Hospital sits on Davis Islands, just across the channel from downtown Tampa, and licensed for 1,354 patient beds, it is one of the largest hospitals in Florida. It is the academic medical center for USF Health, a Level I trauma center and a major transplant program, so a large share of its patients are in exactly the kinds of units where flowers are restricted.

That is the first thing to sort out before you order: find out where the patient is staying. A bouquet that is fine on a general surgery floor may be turned away from a transplant or burn patient. The good news is that TGH is one of the few Florida hospitals that spells its flower rules out in writing, so you are not guessing.

What Tampa General Hospital allows

Tampa General lists the areas where flowers cannot go into patient rooms: the ICU, Transplant, the Burn Unit and Chemotherapy. Outside those areas, fresh arrangements and dish gardens are accepted, which tells you that flowers and live plants are fine on regular floors.

Balloons have their own rule. Latex balloons are not allowed anywhere in the hospital, so if you add a balloon, make it a foil (mylar) one. The hospital also caps balloons at three per room.

One more detail matters: the hospital checks every delivery with the patient's nurse before it is placed. Staff confirm the room at the Nurses' Station, and the nurse can stop items that don't suit the patient. So even on an open floor, the final call is made at the bedside.

Based on the hospital's own website, checked October 29, 2026.

Where the delivery goes

Have a local florist deliver to 1 Tampa General Circle, Tampa, FL 33606, on the Davis Islands campus. On the order, include:

• the patient's full legal name as the hospital has it,
• the unit and room number if you know them,
• your phone number, so the florist can reach you if the room can't be verified.

Plan around the calendar. A weekday delivery is the safest bet, since the room has to be confirmed with the nurse before it goes up, and short stays end fast here. If discharge is likely within a day or two, consider sending to the home instead.

What the florist needs on the card: room verified with Nurses' Station before delivery.

If flowers aren't an option

If the patient is in one of the restricted areas, skip the vase. A greeting card, a plush animal, a book or a few magazines work well, and a mylar balloon may be fine once the nurse approves it. Many families also wait and send flowers the day the patient moves to a regular floor or goes home.

What to send to a patient here

For a surgery or cardiac patient on a general floor, a compact arrangement that fits a crowded bedside table works best. A dish garden lasts longer than cut flowers and needs almost no care. For a new parent in the women's units, something soft and low-scented is a kind choice. Our get-well flowers guide covers sizes and scents, and what to write on the card helps when you don't know what to say. Nearby, the rules differ at AdventHealth Tampa.

Sending somewhere else in Tampa? See flower delivery in Tampa for cutoff times and other local hospitals.