What Is a Blue Rose?
Although roses have been cultivated for 5,000 years and despite there being 25,000 varieties in the world, there never has been a truly blue rose until recently. Roses naturally occur in shades of white, pink, yellow, red and orange, but blue seemed to be impossible, even with hybridization. It took genetic engineering to produce the world's first actual blue rose. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Blue Roses in Literature and Pop Culture
-
Blue roses are frequently mentioned in literature as well as in pop culture media. Rudyard Kipling included them in his stories, and they are frequently feature prominently in anime series from Japan. Typically, the blue rose is presented as a rare or greatly sought after prize. The blue color was considered the Holy Grail among rose enthusiasts and horticulturists for hundreds of years.
Dyed Roses
-
Blue roses can be seen in flower shops and in arrangements, but these are not truly blue flowers. Instead, florists take white roses and dye them a vibrant blue color by dipping them in vegetable coloring. This creates a very brightly colored blue not seen in nature. Even the newly created blue rose is a much more muted color.
-
Almost Blue Roses
-
Rose growers often market rose bushes with names that include the word "blue" attempting to appeal to consumers looking for blue roses. These roses are not actually blue, but lilac in color. Sterling lilac roses do have a very faint and pale blue appearance, but they are considered purple roses. These bushes commonly come in large, climbing varieties or shrub-like roses.
Genetically Engineered Blue Roses
-
Suntory Flowers, a Japanese company, hybridized a blue rose. They spliced a pansy gene into the rose, programming it to propagate blue blooms. This company spent much money developing many varieties of blue flowers. The gene inserted into the rose is responsible for creating the pigment delphinidin, which does not occur naturally in any rose. These roses are now available to the general public.
-
References
- Photo Credit PhotoObjects.net/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
