A Picture of Orange Roses

Love long has taken for his amulet

   One perfect rose.

Dorothy Parker (1893-1967), One Perfect Rose

Redouté painted only one rose that you could truly call orange – R.foetida var. bicolor.  It has two-tone petals, vivid orange on the upper surface and golden yellow on the reverse. Together the effect is striking. This made it an unusual rose in Redouté’s day because roses in nature are not typically orange. To create an orange rose you need to hybridise a yellow rose with a red. And as a rose breeder, you need to know what you’re doing to have a good chance of getting the desired result. To the early rose breeders, the science of rose hybridisation was just beginning and it wouldn’t be until the 20th century that the full-spectrum of orange roses would be revealed.

The Meaning of Orange Roses

Given that orange roses were a rarity in the 18-19th centuries, it seems fitting that in the ‘language of flowers’, receiving orange roses meant that someone was fascinated and besotted with your uniqueness  – their heart on fire for you. Orange, after all, is the colour of fire, and fire is often used as a poetic metaphor for intense burning passions.  In a non-romantic context, orange roses signify boundless energy, enthusiasm and pride in achievements gained.

Click on the orange rose picture (at left) to find out more about the rose.