How To Dye Roses Any Color

Roses are red, violets are blue… but what if roses could be blue, too? That question is easily answered by the fact that they CAN be! 

Natural roses come in shades of red, white, yellow, pink, purple, and orange. You may be wondering, then, how it is possible you have seen roses of all shades of the color wheel, from blue to black to green. The answer: dye. 

Thanks to the process of dyeing (not dying, mind you), the color of your roses is only limited by your own imagination and color preferences. 

And while we at Venus ET Fleur® are happy and proud to provide all sorts of vibrantly-colored flora for you whenever you would like, sometimes it is nice knowing that you can achieve a similar effect for yourself. 

Let us help guide you in the steps of how to dye your favorite roses, and from there, how to keep them looking fresh and fabulous. Keep reading to find out more. 

Why Dye? 

Some of you may be wondering what the point of dyeing roses in the first place is. Natural roses are, of course, already quite lovely and elegant just as they are. But if you could have the opportunity to safely and simply turn an already pretty rose into a stunning one in one of your favorite colors, wouldn’t you want to try it? 

We are giving you the opportunity to do so by walking you through how to dye roses, and hopefully, through giving it a go, you can decide once and for all how you feel about this methodology of achieving the exact kind of rose look you want. 

Some popular reasons why people turn to dyed roses include: 

• So that the roses can perfectly match the color scheme of their home, outfit, or special event.

• To see roses in colors they love that do not grow naturally.

• To try brand new things and experiment because they are passionate about flowers and want to see what sorts of new looks and styles they can achieve with them. 

• So they can acquire something completely unique and different from what may be available or common in everyday life or regular flower shops or gardens. 

How To Dye Roses 

Perhaps now you are sold on the “why” you should try buying or creating dyed roses, so now you are wondering about the actual “how” concerning the process of making them. 

Below, we will walk you through the rose types we recommend using, which tend to work best for dyeing, what you will need to dye them, the steps you should take to get the look you want, and how to preserve the delightful dyed roses you are left with.  

Recommended Rose Types 

We have mentioned the natural colors that roses come in, and perhaps you can guess from them which single rose type is the most suitable for dyeing. Indeed, it is the white rose that stands alone as the type we recommend most for your dyeing adventures. 

Much like with paint, the white color can easily blend with any other one you throw its way, making it both easier and much more likely to end up with the exact hue you want by the end of the process. 

We recommend using our signature Eternity® Roses to get the most out of your dyeing experience. These are Real Roses That Last a Year ®, and when given the correct tender loving care, they will retain their original opulence and light, pleasant aroma throughout this whole time. 

Eternity Roses are real, high-quality flowers that are cultivated in Ecuador and then shipped over to our Venus ET Fleur facilities in New York and Los Angeles. 

The Different Methods 

While our focus here is to help you learn everything you need to know about how to dye your own roses from home, we would also like to help you be as informed as possible by presenting multiple different popular methods for dyeing roses. 

• Absorption Dye: Absorption dye is professional-grade and used (typically by a florist) to tint the color of a freshly cut flower before it is sold in a store. The flowers absorb the dye—hence the name—and then are placed into warm water, which interacts with the dye’s chemicals. The flower is then left to rest in dye-water liquid for up to an hour, drawing the color up via its stem to infuse the flower from the inside out. 

• Dip Dye: You can think of dip-dye as a similar process to dyeing an Easter Egg during the holiday season. Beginning by acquiring a professional tint or dye, you will pour it into a bow or container before using the step as a handle to dip the flower into the coloring, ensuring it gets completely immersed. You only need to hold the flower in the dye for a few seconds before the color has properly set. Upon removal, it is imperative to avoid getting dye on your clothing or body, as it will leave a difficult-to-remove the stain. 

• Dyeing Spray: Specialized colored spray dye comes in a can and must be purchased by a professional vendor, rather than made on your own. While this is a strong product that will thoroughly color your roses, it is also inherently messy and more difficult to control than the other methods. 

• DIY Dye: A way to make your own flower dye based on items you most likely already own. More on this in the sections below. 

What You Will Need 

To dye roses from home, you will need:

• White Roses
• Food coloring
• Rubber gloves
• Cups or glasses (the number depends on how many roses you dye)
• Water
• A razor knife or box cutter (optional)
• Thick cardboard or a rotary mat (optional)
• Tape (optional)

Regarding the optional items, your use of or need for them depends on the roses you have as well as what you plan on doing with them. For example, if your rose has a long stem, you can use the razor knife to trim the stems at an angle so they each end up being about 12” long. 

Additionally, if you are very ambitious and want to create rainbow or multi-colored roses, you will want to use the knife to slice them into two to four thin (but still strong) sections. 

Whenever you cut with a sharp tool like a razor knife, you will want to be sure to do this atop a thick and sturdy surface (this is where your cardboard or rotary mat comes in) to avoid cutting or scraping any of your furniture. 

If you are trying this DIY method with more roses than you have cups, you can use the tape to fasten multiple roses together by their stems to ensure their stability as well as equal coloring for both. 

The Steps to Dye Your Roses

1. Gather your roses and ensure that they are primped and primed for the dyeing to come. This means picking leaves off and trimming their stems to around 12” long. 
2. For the daring rainbow rose chasers among you, this is where you utilize your cardboard or mat and knife to cut the stem open into two to four three-inch-long parts. You have to be careful and take your time here to make sure the stem does not completely snap off or get cut into too many sections. 
   Again, this only applies to rainbow or multi-colored roses. If you are dyeing a rose a single color, no need to cut the stem beyond the initial slight trim in Step One. 
3. Pour water into the cups before adding in your food coloring. Make sure to place these cups close to one another. This will keep your rose stems from stretching too far and potentially breaking as a result. 
4. If you are trying to create a rainbow rose, place each section into a different cup. If not, just place a single rose into the cup you want its color to be. When dealing with many roses, this is where you tape the stems of different roses together so you can put them in the same cup to increase efficiency.
5. Let your roses sit in the cups for at least four hours to get lighter or pastel colors. To get more vibrant roses, you want to let those roses sit for multiple days, and basically as long as it takes until you are happy with the color the rose has taken on. Sometimes it is better to play it safe by letting roses sit even longer than you think they should in order to draw out the maximum dye coloring. 

How To Preserve the Roses 

You can make your at-home dyed roses last and look beautiful by making the commitment to take good care of them. Make sure to keep your colorful roses out of direct sunlight, as the rays can actually end up absorbing the light and zapping some of your hard-earned hues out. 

It helps to keep dyed roses in a nice vase and room temperature water in order to further preserve and promote the good health of your roses for as long as possible. We hope that you are able to make your gorgeous roses last and that you enjoy the dyeing process enough to try it again and again. Best of luck!

 

Sources:

How Are Flowers Colored Artificially? | SF Gate

How To Dye Roses At Home, Easy Peasy DIY With Food Coloring | Easy Peasy Creative Ideas

Rainbow roses: are they real? | Love the Garden