Claim: Photograph shows roses bred to grow multi-colored petals.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, February 2010]
Origins: Human beings have long engaged in the practice of manipulating the breeding of plant species (through techniques ranging from simple cross-pollination to complex gene splicing) for a number of reasons, including improving the quality and
yield of crops, creating plants that can better withstand extreme environmental conditions, and developing food sources that are more resistant to the onslaught of
damaging insects, viruses, fungi and bacteria.
Sometimes such breeding is undertaken purely for aesthetic reasons: to produce, for example, flowers that are "prettier" in some way, such as the brilliantly colored roses shown in the picture above. However, although the photograph itself has not been doctored, the roses
These "rainbow roses" were created by Dutch flower company owner Peter van de Werken, who produced them by developing a technique for injecting natural pigments into their stems while they are growing to create the striking multi-colored petal effect:
A special process then controls how much colour reaches each Mr van de Werken, 36, said: "We used to only sell single colour flowers but the market for them took a dip. Myself and my colleagues started looking for something a bit different and came up with the idea of having different-coloured flowers. First of all we tried spraying the flowers but that did not work. Then we tried the dye. It took us about six months to get it right and we still make mistakes."
The dyes are produced from natural plant extracts and are absorbed by the flowers as they grow.
The process of creating and distributing Rainbow Roses is discussed in the following Reuters news video:
Additional photographs of Rainbow Roses can be viewed here.
Last updated: 3 March 2010
 | Sources: |
metro.co.uk. "'Rainbow' Roses Are All the Rage." 6 February 2007. Reuters. "Rainbow Roses for Valentine's Day." 14 February 2007. The Sun. "Roses Are Red, Blue, Yellow ..." 7 February 2007.
