Category: Valentine’s Day

Even though red roses are the most popular, roses come in a rainbow of natural colors. Roses can also be white, pink, purple, yellow, orange and green, naturally. There are other engineered and painted colors, but these are the only true rose colors.

There are many factors that go into a buyer’s decision on which color roses to get including what flowers are available in theireri area, what the recipient or the buyer’s favorite color is, what occasion the roses are for and, of course, price.

One thing to also factor into consideration is what the roses mean.

If you are giving flowers as a present, they are inherently meant to convey meaning. Flowers are typically given to express love, appreciation, friendship, support etc. To help you pick the right color roses, we’ve compiled a rose color meaning guide:

Red Roses

The classic roses. Although most people already know that red roses are associated with romantic love, it’s important to mention. The typical romantic gift is a dozen red roses to express love, but for those looking for a “wow” factor 2 or 3 dozen roses are also common.

Consider carefully who you are giving red roses too as most people will consider them a declaration of love.

White Roses

White roses are heavily used in weddings and are often associated with marriage and commitment. They represent new beginnings.

However, white roses are often used in more solemn situations such as funerals because of their representation of peace. 

Either way, white roses are traditionally reserved for big and serious life events.

Pink Roses

Pink roses are traditionally associated with gratitude, such as thanking someone for their friendship, but when it comes to Valentine’s Day these can be used to show that someone is attracted to someone without confessing eternal love. This is a good Valentine’s option for couples who haven’t expressed their love for each other or are in an early stage of a relationship.

Pink is also traditionally considered a feminine color, although we believe pink is for everyone. However, because of its feminine properties it is sometimes used as a present in female friendships for Galentine’s Day which is February 13.

Purple Roses

Light purple or lavender roses embrace the softness of love. Instead of focusing on being overly romantic and grand, it conveys meaning in a calmer, but just as meaningful, way. It suggests great happiness with the relationship in a less bold and flashy manner.

Yellow Roses

Yellow roses are typically associated with friendship in the modern era. They are also popular for everyday flowers and birthday flowers because of their cheery color.

Orange Roses

Orange roses are associated with passion and enthusiasm. The passion part is due to their flame-like color. Orange roses are considered a good gift for a significant other after they have completed a big goal, like receiving a promotion at work or running a marathon.

Green Roses

Green typically equates to growth due to the color of plants and trees. Because of this color association, green roses celebrate new beginnings. These are the perfect roses to give someone who is starting a new job or moving.

Although these are the traditional associations of the different colors of roses, it doesn’t mean your recipient will know them. Whether you choose your roses based on their meanings or something else, the most important part is whether the person who will be receiving and displaying them likes them. 

As always with flowers, keep in mind it truly is the thought that counts.  

Visit here to browse all of our Valentine’s Day roses: Valentine’s Day Roses

Roses are synonymous with Valentine’s Day and have long been the symbol of love. The Society of American Florists estimates that 250 million roses are produced just for February 14.

83% of all flowers purchased for Valentine’s Day are roses, according to SAF, with red roses being the highest percentage color of roses bought at 65%.

Based on these numbers, it seems most people agree roses are the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. But how did that all start?

Ancient Times

The association of roses and love seemingly began in Greek and Roman times, however, these cultures used roses to signify more than just love.

According to Iowa State University, rose petals were used as modern-day confetti during parties and important events in Rome. Romans also hung up roses during private, important meetings as a symbol that the information must not leave the room in which it was spoken.

They also paired roses with love by wearing rose garlands at weddings, according to TIME.

The Greek poet Sappho wrote of the importance of the rose in their culture in his poem “Song of the Rose”:

“For Zeus chose us a King of the flowers in his mirth,

He would call to the rose, and would royally crown it;

For the rose, ho, the rose! is the grace of the earth,

Is the light of the plants that are growing upon it! . . .”

They didn’t reserve roses for big events, however. Romans also used them in their everyday lives too, placing their petals on their floors and in their baths.

However, according to Iowa State University, China was the first country to cultivate roses beginning in 551-479 BC. 

TIME also suggests that the red color of roses resembles blushing, an action associated with sexuality, which could have aided roses being associated with romance.

France & Victorian England Influence

Victorian England, specifically courtesy of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, also helped to solidify roses’ popularity and their connotation of love. 

Lady Montagu was the wife of the British ambassador to Turkey and misunderstood the Turkish tradition of assigning meanings to objects, according to TIME. The true tradition involved rhyming words and didn’t focus as much on the objects themselves.

Lady Montagu’s take on assigning meaning to flowers, even though it was an incorrect interpretation, became popular. Charlotte de Latour from France published her book “Language des fleurs” based on these principles. Latour’s book heavily romanticized the rose.

More books and poems were penned after Latour’s publication that continued to speak on the association of roses and love. The sale of roses increased by a large margin in Victorian England and France once these publications became popular.

Modern Culture

Roses popularity has not faded nor has their symbolism of love and romance. The flower is still used heavily in modern movies, shows, songs, books, etc.

Consider Beauty and the Beast, whose movie adaptation is centered around a cursed rose. A prince is forced to live in beast form with the spell only being broken by love. The prince is given the cursed rose that will bloom until he turns 21 and he has until that age to learn to love.

More recently in pop culture, the hit shows The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and The Golden Bachelor all use a rose to convey affection. In these reality dating shows, the bachelorette or bachelor announces which of their suitors will stay and compete for their “love” by giving them a rose.

In music, many songs have been written with roses as the main focus. Some examples include “Roses” by The Band CAMINO, “English Rose” by Ed Sheeran, and “Roses by The Chainsmokers, but the list of rose-related songs is seemingly endless.

Roses and what they symbolize have stood the test of time in world culture. Every Valentine’s Day when people flock to a florist to purchase a dozen red roses, the tradition continues.

The writer Gertrude Stein’s line “a rose is a rose is a rose” is sometimes interpreted as meaning things are what they are.

But if you peel back the petals, figuratively speaking, roses reveal themselves to be full of intrigue. Not only are there more than 120 commercial varieties of roses, rose colors carry different meanings that lend themselves to widely varying intents.

Here are 10 colors and their myriad meanings:

Red: The most popular Valentine’s Day flower by far, red roses represent “love and admiration” of the romantic kind, ideal for a spouse or long-term partner.

“This may have started with Greek and Roman mythology—it was told that the red rose was created by the goddess of love, Aphrodite,” according to Parade. “The legend states that her tears and the blood of her lover, Adonis, watered the ground where roses appeared.”

Burgundy: Suggesting a passion even deeper than red roses, but also associated with loyalty and commitment.

Lavender: House Beautiful calls lavender “enchanting and magical” and arguably the most romantic roses of all. “They’re great for a budding romance.”

Orange: Friendship that is turning romantic. It’s an energetic and uplifting color, too, that can cheer up someone who is ill.

Yellow: Friendship, making it great for Galentine’s Day or generally brightening someone’s day.

Deep Pink: Gratitude and appreciation, deep pink is a gentler option than red, according to Reader’s Digest.

Medium Pink: Congratulations! “So if you have a daughter or friend who just accomplished something significant, medium pink roses could be the perfect gift,” Parade noted.

Light Pink: Appreciation or innocence, “perfect for giving to a friend or daughter ‘just because’ or with a ‘thinking of you’ note,” but also “a girlfriend in a new and budding relationship.” Meanwhile, House Beautiful said light pink roses also represent self-love, “making them a great gift to give yourself.”

Purple: Dual meanings: passion and infatuation, signifying the beginning of a romantic relationship; royalty, majesty and honor, appropriate for someone held in high regard.

White: Traditionally used in weddings and standing for “innocence, new beginnings and truth,” according to Parade. They are popular at graduations and baptisms.

Clearly, “a rose is a rose is a rose” is inaccurate when it comes to rose colors.

Whether you’re gifting roses for Valentine’s Day or another holiday, a special occasion, or some other reason, you’ll want to make sure that the color you buy sends the appropriate message.

Valentine’s Day often is described as the flower industry’s version of the Super Bowl.

It’s the No. 1 holiday for florists, similar in size to the Christmas season but playing out in a much shorter schedule.

In 2022, 22 percent of Americans bought fresh flowers or plants as gifts for Valentine’s Day, according to the Society of American Florists. Roses comprised 83 percent of those purchases, with red roses the top seller by far.

Just as the victorious football team’s most devoted fans will celebrate for days after the big game, the recipient of Valentine’s Day roses reasonably can expect to get a week or longer out of them by taking some simple steps.

KEEP ROSES COOL

Keep them away from a heat source, such as a vent or direct sunlight. While you are sleeping, you can place them in an unheated room or garage before putting them back on display in the morning.

KEEP ROSES WATERED

If roses arrive in a vase:

• They will use more water than you think, so add water pretty much daily.
• If after five days or so the water is getting dirty, pull the roses out, re-cut the stems and put them back in the vase with fresh water. Add a packet of floral preservative, available from your florist.
• If the water is relatively clean, leave it alone as it will have some preservative left in it.

If roses arrive loose or in a box:

• If the roses came with tubes on the stems, remove the tubes and re-cut the stems about 1 inch from the bottom. It is best to cut at an angle, which creates more surface area for water intake.
• Place the roses in a vase with water that is room temperature to a little warm.
• Add floral preservative to the water; you should have received a packet with the delivery.
• Only change the water if it becomes noticeably dirty.

IF ROSES DON’T OPEN

• Within a day or two, your roses should begin to open. If not, remove them from the vase, re-cut the stems at an angle, and return them to the vase.
• If they still do not begin to open, re-cut the stems but this time also float the flowers in a bath of water for an hour or two to rehydrate them. Then return them to the vase. Most times, this will bring the roses around.

In one significant way, the Valentine’s Day/Super Bowl analogy falls short of the goal line.

Because unlike the football game, the best outcome for Valentine’s Day is when everyone – florist, giver and recipient alike – emerges a winner because those beautiful flowers lasted so long.