How to Make Blue Roses

Blue roses do not occur naturally, and until only recently had never been successfully bred at all. Genetic modification made the first blue rose possible, but you can also create your own blue roses at home without expensive laboratory equipment. With food coloring and water, you can create blue roses from cut white roses. They make a great alternative to traditional red and pink roses.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vase Water Blue food coloring Knife White roses Paper towels

1. Fill a vase approximately half full of water. Make sure the vase is large enough to hold all of the blue roses you are creating. It's easier to make one large batch than several smaller batches.

2. Add several drops of blue food coloring to the water. Add more food coloring for darker blue roses, and less food coloring for lighter blue roses.

3. Use a sharp knife to cut a small notch in the bottom of each of the white rose stems. This will make it easier for them to absorb the color, and you'll see results more quickly.

4. Place the cut white roses in the vase of colored water. Allow them to remain in the water for at least 24 hours for the best results. They should be left alone for a minimum of 8 hours to fully absorb the color.

5. Remove the roses from the water and absorb any excess water from the stems with paper towels. Your roses should be a blue color relative to the amount of food coloring you added to the water.

Tips & Warnings

• If giving the blue roses as a gift, tie them with a blue ribbon and place in a new, clean vase. If keeping them for yourself, you can leave them in the original vase with colored water as long as you like. The color will darken over time as the petals absorb more color.