Rose Colour Meanings

Rose Colour Meanings

Meanings of Roses Based on Colours

In the language of rose colour meanings, red says "love."

When giving cut flowers as Valentine gifts, we adhere to a time-honored formula that takes into account rose colour meanings. The formula matches a flower's colour to its intended meaning as a gift. Valentine's Day is primarily a lovers' holiday, and red is traditionally reserved for lovers.

Red enjoys an iconic status, even though other colours have their place on the holiday. Our close family members may also be treated to red posies for Valentine's Day, but we avoid this colour choice for friends on Valentine's Day -- that would simply convey the wrong meaning. The following are the meanings traditionally ascribed to the most popular roses, according to colours; use this list as a guide when selecting your Valentine's Day gift:

• Red means romantic love (the Valentine's Day gift par excellence).
• Purple, coral and orange challenge red as the colour for Valentine's Day. The rose colour meanings for these 3 are as follows:
• The specific purpose of purple is to signify that the giver has fallen in love with the recipient at first sight.
• Meanwhile, coral signals desire.
• And orange, along with apricot, connotes enthusiasm.

• The meaning of yellow is joy and friendship.
• We express our gratitude and appreciation with pink....
• While feelings of admiration and sympathy find words with roses that are light pink in colour.
• Peach is more ambiguous, as it can signify either sympathy or gratitude.
• Its purity naturally enough lends to white the meaning of reverence and humility.

What about "black" roses (i.e., flowers that have been sprayed or dyed black at the florist shop)? Unless you're a "Goth" or are trying to be funny, I'd stay away from sending black: the interpretation is too iffy. In my article, What Black Roses Mean, which presents interesting facts about roses, I note that black's symbolism includes death-related themes.

But the formula for rose colour meanings listed above will work for the other colours. Just follow the formula that matches the colours with the corresponding meanings, and you can't go wrong as a gift-giver.