Blue, Black and Rainbow Roses: What They Really Are

Photos of electric-blue, black and multicolored roses are everywhere, and most of the sites selling them do not explain where they come from. Here is the truth, one by one.

The blue rose

It does not exist in nature. Roses lack the gene that produces delphinidin, the blue pigment. For centuries it was the holy grail of growers, and that is where its meaning comes from: the impossible, the unattainable, a one-of-a-kind love.

What is sold as a blue rose is a dyed white rose, usually by absorption: the stem is placed in water with dye and the flower draws it up. It is a legitimate process and the result is pretty, but it is worth knowing what you are buying.

There is also one real exception: Applause, developed in Japan through genetic engineering using petunia genes. It is more lilac than blue and is not sold here.

The black rose

It does not exist either. What is sold is a very dark burgundy-red rose —varieties such as Black Baccara or Black Magic— that looks almost black in certain light. There are also roses dyed black.

There is one famous case: the Halfeti roses in Turkey, which darken a lot at the end of the season because of the local soil conditions. They are still not black.

Its meaning: farewell, mystery, the end of something. In some subcultures it reads as rebellion. Do not send it without context: if the person does not get the reference, the message they receive is a funeral one.

The rainbow rose

It is a dyeing trick: the stem is split into several sections, each placed in a different dye, and each section of petals absorbs its own color. It is craft, not botany. It looks spectacular in photos and quite a bit more subdued in person.

What really does exist

• Lavender or mauve rose: natural. It means love at first sight and enchantment.
• Green rose: natural. Serenity and abundance.
• Bicolor rose: natural, with real gradients between two shades.

Where we stand

There is nothing wrong with dyed flowers as long as they are sold as dyed. What we do not agree with is selling them as natural varieties at rarity prices. If you want something out of the ordinary and natural, the lavender rose is the answer. The meanings by color are in rose meanings by color.

Availability of each flower changes with the season. If you are looking for a specific flower, ask us before ordering and we will confirm whether we have it.