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Rainbow roses are real roses, not artificial or painted. Growers split the stem into several sections and place each in a different coloured dye, so the bloom draws up a distinct colour into each part of the flower head. They typically last 5 to 7 days, about the same as a standard fresh rose, and the colour is fixed before delivery, it won't shift once it arrives. Rainbow roses are rarely stocked by Irish florists, which makes them a genuinely distinctive gift here. Our Half Dozen Rainbow Roses is €59.99, hand-tied fresh to order with same-day Dublin delivery and next-day delivery nationwide.
Most Irish florists stock roses in the usual colours, red, white, pink, yellow, and stop there. Rainbow roses are something we rarely see stocked at all in the Irish market, not because they're rare in general, specialist growers produce them for florists internationally, but because so few florists delivering in Ireland carry them. That makes them one of the more genuinely distinctive gifts you can send here.
We do carry them. Our Half Dozen Rainbow Roses bouquet is exactly that: six real roses, each one a spectrum of colour rather than a single shade, hand-tied with gypsophila and fresh seasonal greenery.
How are rainbow roses made?
A rainbow rose starts life as an ordinary white or cream rose. Growers split the stem lengthwise into several sections, then stand each section in water mixed with a different coloured dye. A rose naturally draws water up through its stem to feed the bloom, and because the stem has been divided, each section carries its own colour up into a distinct part of the flower head rather than mixing together. The result is a fully real, fully formed rose where each petal or petal group ends up a different vivid colour, rather than the flower being painted or altered after it's cut.
Where did rainbow roses come from?
The technique is commonly credited to Peter van de Werken, a Dutch flower grower who is reported to have spent around six months perfecting the dyeing process before rainbow roses became commercially available in the mid-2000s. The idea has since spread to growers internationally, and the method has been documented in horticultural trade publications as a recognised, if unusual, way of producing coloured blooms, alongside older techniques used to create other artificially coloured flowers.
How long do rainbow roses last, and does the colour change?
With proper care, rainbow roses typically last around 5 to 7 days, similar to a standard fresh rose, sometimes a touch shorter, since splitting the stem to colour it can slightly affect how well it takes up water afterwards. The usual advice for any fresh rose applies: trim the stem, change the water every couple of days, and keep the bouquet away from direct heat or sunlight.
The colour itself is fixed during the dyeing process, well before the bouquet reaches you, so it won't shift or change to a different shade after delivery. Like any cut flower, the vibrancy will soften gradually as the bloom matures, but the colours you receive are the colours that will stay for the life of the bouquet.
Who are rainbow roses best suited to?
They work well for a birthday when the person receiving them has never been a "dozen red roses" kind of person. They suit an anniversary for a couple who'd rather send something nobody else is likely to. They're a strong choice for a milestone celebration, a new job, a big move, simply because they read as a bit of an event in themselves. And for anyone who finds a classic red rose bouquet a little predictable, rainbow roses are the clearest way to send roses without sending the expected thing.
Our Half Dozen Rainbow Roses is priced at €59.99, hand-tied fresh to order and delivered in a protective aqua pack so the colour and condition hold up on the way to wherever it's going.
What if I'd rather send classic red roses?
None of this is to talk anyone out of a traditional bouquet, sometimes the classic gesture is exactly the right one. Our Half Dozen Red Roses, six hand-selected premium red roses at €54.99, remains the most straightforward way to say the traditional thing. There's nothing wrong with choosing a classic bouquet for one occasion and something more unexpected for the next, they're not really in competition with each other, just different tools for different moments.
Browse our full range of bouquets and hatboxes to see everything on offer, rainbow roses included.
Same-day delivery in Dublin for orders placed before 2pm, or before 1pm on Fridays. Next-day delivery nationwide, Monday to Saturday, for orders placed before 9pm.