Most mothers struggle to get teenage boys out of bed in time for school, but for Elman Avallone, waking up at 5am is just part of his job.

It is not unusual for him to be bustled away in a dark van and driven through the dark streets to Grenada to buy “stock” in a cold, almost barren warehouse.

Except the stock Elman deals with comes in the form of gerberas, hyacinths, ferns, roses and his favourite, the oriental lily.

Seventeen-year-old Elman started working at Porirua New World last year as a trainee florist with no background experience or formal training. In under a year, he has become the manager of the department and got profits up by 30%.

“I think it’s my passion for it and my edge,” he says. “My edge is I am me, I am Elman.”

Store manager Sam Allison says Elman has sheer ability and is receptive to new ideas: “He’s like a sponge. He absorbs what you say and then he delivers quality product.”

He has already sussed out the tricks of the trade and for someone that age to be that switched on is great, Mr Allison says.

The weekly buyers’ auction is an aggressive scene that Elman has learned to deal with quickly.

“People get angry because I know what I’m doing, I know flowers and I don’t wing anything,” he says.

Elman’s goals as a florist manager are simple: “I want people to think of me when they think of flowers.”

He says there are a thousand things he loves doing, but variety is important: “If all I did was flowers I would get bored with them.”

Elman is also involved in a boys’ choir, the Viard College Chorus, and drama productions, and he plays the organ at his church before coming to work on a Sunday morning.

Mr Allison says New World is looking at providing Elman with formal training after he finishes college this year.