- Author: David Bellamy
I hope you still have roses to enjoy in your garden. I suspect some of you may have received some rose bouquets for Mother's Day, and some of those may have been the carnival-colored roses (aka Rainbow Roses). If not, you have probably seen them on Internet ads. They come in every color imaginable, including bright true blue, black, as well as the multicolored individual roses. Ever wonder how they do that?
Most of you have had some experience in this area back in grade school. By placing the stem of a carnation in a glass of water and adding some blue or another color of food coloring, and then marveling as the dye was absorbed and taken up into the stems, leaves, and flower.
The first attempts by growers at coloring roses used this basic technique, but carefully split the stem of cut roses at the base into four parts, and then placing each section into separate containers of different dyes. Growers have done much work to find the best formulas for dyes. At first, they were able to make dyes that produced great color, but the chemicals were very harsh on the blooms, which shortened their attractive period after being cut. They eventually came up with new formulas that produced great colors and were gentle on the roses. They also developed formulas that acted as a preservative which extended the life of the cut bloom. The ones I bought for my sweetheart lasted more than 3 weeks!
Most growers now use an injection method to get the dye into the living stem before they are cut. Syringes with tiny needles are used to quickly get the dye into the stems. They pick a spot usually 6 inches to 2 feet or further down from the bloom, and then inject it a number of times around the stem of living rose just before harvesting, usually 6 hours or more before cutting, to give the rose time to suck up the dye into the bloom.
The roses for the ones I ordered were grown at a family farm in a rain forest of Ecuadorian highlands near the Cotopaxi volcano. Many of the base roses are all white, but they also use at least seven other rose varieties in different colors, and they combine different natural colors with different dyes to give them many more color combinations.
Image: Italian painting of Vertumnus (god of seasons) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo
(God of seasonal change and plant growth, in Roman mythology)
Continuing with the rose folklore from last month, here is some about the rose from mythology. The creation of the rose is usually attributed to the Roman goddess, Flora, the goddess of spring and flowers, and the subject of many rose myths. After one of her nymphs dies, Flora calls upon the gods to change her into a beautiful flower. Apollo gives her life; Bacchus, gives her nectar; Vertumnus, a beautiful perfume; Pomona, a fruit; and Flora, gives her a "crown" of petals. The myth continues when Cupid, son of Venus, shoots arrows at bees that have stung him. Thorns (more correctly called "prickles") grow from the rose stems where his arrows missed their mark.
Links to more information & references:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_rose
https://www.thespruce.com/rainbow-roses-4172423
https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/greek-vs-roman-gods/
Images:
Image: Italian painting of Vertumnus (god of seasons) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo
(God of seasonal change and plant growth, in Roman mythology)
Photo: bing.com/images (Rosaholics)
Photo: Andrew Majcher/Getty Images
