A Rose is a Rose

A rose is a rose. Or is it? Why is it that the Coral colored rose you loved in your friend’s garden looks different in your garden? Many things factor in to the color of the rose. Growing conditions, temperatures, intensity of the sun, the amount of rainfall, as well as pigmentation in the rose, all contribute to its coloring.

Your local climate will have an effect on your roses. For example, the very bright sunlight, and extreme heat of warm climates can cause certain effects on the roses. Yellow roses can fade, and dark pink and red roses can develop darker edges.

Damp climates can effect yellow roses making them especially prone to blackspot. You should avoid planting white roses in rainy climates, because they can be prone to water spotting. Consider planting them where they won't get dripped on by trees or eaves.

For most gardeners, the variability in the color of their roses only add to their charm. If it is very important for you to have your rose be a specific color, you should check the description of it from several sources. If you get similar descriptions, it’s a good indication that the rose will be true to color. Blooms that have only a few pigments in their color such as yellow and pink, usually stay the same throughout the season. Ones with more complex shades like apricot and coral, tend to change as the rose matures. Red roses sometimes add a slight tinge of purple as it ages due to the blue pigmentation.

Classifications of Color Variations

Multicolor The rose can exhibit blooms of different colors on the same bush

Bicolor Flowers with a different color reverse

Striped The rose bears stripes of a different color

Hand painted The flowers have a delicate touch of a lighter color that actually looks like someone touched them with a paint brush.

Blended a blend of two or more colors on the same flower

A rose is a rose? Not always! Local weather plays a big role in the color of your roses. Cold climate gardeners will have roses with more intense color. Hot climates may experience roses that look softer and more faded. Regional conditions are important factors in size, vigor and color of the rose.

The same rose could look different in every garden, depending on the conditions (soil, climate, weather, rain,) and also the maturity of the rose bush.

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Meaning of Flower Colors