Multicolored Rainbow Roses, a New Breed: Facts

Story:

These roses are not dyed or doctored, they have been bred to grow this way. They are gorgeous!!!!

Picture of Multicolored Rainbow Roses, a New Breed — Multicolored Rainbow Roses, a New Breed

Analysis:

The message comes with a picture claiming to show multi-colored ‘Rainbow’ Roses that are not photoshopped or dyed, but have been bred to grow in that way. Yes, the picture of wonderful multi-color roses is not doctored, but as such they are not a new breed that grows naturally; they are in fact grown while using dye in a special way.

What Are They

The pleasant looking roses with shades of blue, purple, green orange, pink, and yellow are known as rainbow roses or happy roses. The wonderful combination of colors in rainbow roses is of course not natural, it is the result of pigment injection (dyeing) while growing.

The highly colorful rainbow rose flowers were designed by Peter Van de Werken, a Dutch businessman who owns a flower company near Den Bosch in southern Holland. The idea came up when the firm wanted to come up with different-colored flowers.

How Are They Grown

These special roses are artificially developed by injecting various colored dyes into the stem (one at a time) of the roses while they are growing, which are absorbed (sucked up) by the petals of the flowers as they grow. The dyes are produced from natural plant extracts. However, the happy roses are not easy to make; they take a bit of careful engineering. Talking about it in 2007, from the firm, Van de Werken said, “First of all we tried spraying the flowers but that did not work. Then we tried the dye. It took us about six months to get it right and we still make mistakes.” Moreover, the multi-color output also depends on the type of rose; initially the firm used long-stemmed Vendela roses (shown in Image below).

Picture of Long-stemmed Vendela roses — Long-stemmed Vendela roses

In Short

The multi-colored roses are real, called rainbow roses or happy roses, they are not natural or new breed, but are artificially created by injecting dyes to the stem of the flowers. For their colorful look, it’s no wonder they have become popular since 2007, the key markets being in Sweden, Japan and Italy. These rainbow roses are usually given as gifts and wedding bouquets, also used in unusual and striking floral arrangements.