Dye Roses

Red roses are classic, but sometimes your sweetheart would prefer a customized color. Professionally dyed roses can be sprayed, dipped or saturated with dye through absorption.[1] Unlike more expensive methods, dying roses through absorption only requires a few household items and 2 to 24 hours.

Steps

Purchasing Supplies

  1. Buy a dozen white roses. If your project is larger, you will need several dozen bouquets. If you can’t find white roses, you will get a similar effect with roses that are very light pink.
    • If you are disappointed in your local florist’s selection, you can order white roses on the Internet or through a floral store like FTD.
  2. Set up a craft table. You will need a drop cloth or cover of newspapers on which to set your dye cups. In addition, you will want to find a self-healing cutting mat and x-acto knife.
    • If you don’t have a self-healing craft mat, find a thick piece of cardboard.
  3. Find large, sturdy plastic drink cups. You will need as many cups as colors you want to use. They should all be the same size.
  4. Make sure you have a sink with a working plug, so that you can fill it with water. You can also use a bucket for this, as long as it is an appropriate size (at least 24 inches around).

Cutting Stems

  1. Before and while you cut your roses, be sure to hold at least 2 inches of each rose's stem under. If the bare stems are introduced to the air for too long, they won't absorb the dye. Cut each stem to 10 to 12 inches (25.4 to 30.5 cm) long. Cut with sharp scissors at a 45-degree angle to increase the absorption area of the stems.
    • The stems will need to “drink” the dye through the stem.
  2. Clip off the leaves on each stem. You can fill your bouquet with greenery at the end.
  3. Slit the stems if you plan to make multi-colored roses. You can create “tie-dyed” roses that have three to four different colored petals. Lay your rose stem on the worktable and slit the stem six inches (15.2 cm) vertically into two to four even sections.
    • This is best done with an x-acto knife or sharp kitchen knife. Be very careful not to cut yourself.
    • Use a gentle motion to avoid snapping the stem. If you do snap the stem, you can salvage it. Cut the stem at a 45-degree angle and dye it one color instead of multi-color.[2]
    • If you want to dye the petals four different colors, you will need to cut it vertically, then roll the stem and slice it vertically into quarters.
  4. Pile your white roses into sections according to what colors you want them to be.

Mixing Dyes

  1. Bring your food coloring and a pitcher of water to your worktable. Put on some rubber gloves to avoid dying your hands.
  2. Pour one cup (237 ml) of water into each cup.
  3. Drip your food coloring into each of the cups. You will need to use several primary colors to mix secondary colors if you are using the traditional red, green, blue and yellow food coloring. To create more vibrant and subtle colors, go to The Food Network’s Frost By Numbers site at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/Frost-by-Numbers-How-to-Make-Frosting-Colors.html.
  4. Mix the colors with a plastic spoon or popsicle stick. Rinse the spoon before you mix the next color.
  5. Ensure that colors that will be used to dye a single multicolored rose are set next to each other.
  6. Consider setting the plastic cups in smaller cardboard boxes to give them extra support. Flimsy plastic cups will spill if too many roses are leaning against them.

Dying Roses

  1. Pick up groups of white roses and set them into the dye cups with the stems facing down.
  2. Create multi-colored roses by setting each section of your split stem in a separate dye cup.
  3. Watch the roses over 2 to 24 hours. The roses will drink the food coloring and absorb the color into their petals. Remove the rose when the petals have reach your desired color.
    • Petals will have small "veins" that will be dyed darker than the rest of the flower. If you want to prevent this, you can leave your rose in its dye up to two times longer than suggested in the article above.
    • Pastels can take two to four hours.
    • Bright colors can take all night or up to 24 hours.
  4. Remove the roses one by one. Flush the dye down a drain. Still wear your gloves so you do not get dye on your hands!!
  5. Fill a vase with fresh water and floral preservative. Flower food packets are available at flower shops, gardening shops and online. Insert your colored roses in the vase and enjoy.
    • Change the water and flower preservative every other day to keep your dyed roses fresh.[3]

Things You'll Need

  • White roses
  • Plastic drink cups
  • Plastic spoon
  • X-acto knife/sharp paring knife
  • Self-healing mat/cardboard
  • Newspapers
  • Work table
  • Water
  • Food coloring
  • Scissors
  • Rubber gloves
  • Flower preservative
  • Vase
  • Sink/bucket

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.proflowers.com/guide/how-florists-dye-flowers
  2. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6revvHtJLxM
  3. ↑ http://www.flowershopdeals.com/guides/how-to-dye-fresh-cut-flowers

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