ARE RAINBOW ROSES REAL?

Are rainbow roses real?

Should you care to take a look, the internet is awash with images of multi-coloured rainbow roses. However, in a world where images can be easily manipulated to represent literally anything, no-one can ever be too sure of anything. With this in mind, are rainbow roses real?

Well they are real and they are not real, that is to say they only exist because they are manufactured. Putting it poetically it is a fake you can make!

Rainbow roses

So to confirm, you cannot walk into a garden centre and purchase a beautiful, multi-coloured rainbow rose. Such a plant does not exists and, unless those large-brained geneticists come up with an ingenious genome, such a plant will never exist.

The truth is that a rainbow rose starts its life as nothing more humble than a simple long-stemmed white rose. The stem is cut approximately 8-12 inches down from an opening bud. Spoiler alert! If the stem is to long then the coloured dyes may not be transported to the petals! Also, be aware that if the bud is too tight, it may never open, The bottom 3-4 inches is then split into 3 or four sections. Each section is then places in a tube of colour dye,  To get the full rainbow effect red, blue, and yellow dyes are used which should also ensure a colour mix as they partially combine in the stem.

And there you have it rainbow roses are effectively fake. This is why you will never see a rainbow rose as a grafted plant growing in the ground and why you will only every see it as a cut flower. Equally, this is why the seeds you see for sale for rainbow roses are also fake. You have been warned!

For related articles click onto the following links:

HISTORIC ROSES - 'Rosa Mundi'
HOW TO GROW ROSES FROM CUTTINGS
How to Propagate Roses by Layering
HOW TO PRUNE ROSES
How to prune Shrub Roses
THE BLACK DRAGON ROSE
WHAT IS AN F1 HYBRID?
What is a Rainbow Rose?

Main image credit - Simon Eade @ Eaden Horticulture