Discover 15 Different Colors Of Roses (and What Each Means)

During the Victorian era, flowers and flower colors earned distinct meanings as a part of polite society. Since that time, fresh roses have gained specific meanings that still hold today as folks enjoy these beautiful blooms. But if you’re not sure which rose colors mean what, you may need a little “brush-up” course. These descriptions can help you decide when and to whom your gift of roses should go.

Blue Rose Colors: Mystery, Uniqueness, or Unrequited Love

Something mysterious lingers in shades of blue, which is why blue roses represent mystery and uniqueness. The cool color also implies something unattainable, something distant, like the ocean depths. Blue roses can symbolize any of these things, as well as unrequited love, or big dreams.

Many folks give blue roses to people unique and unafraid of standing out. They’re perfect for weddings as that “something blue” and for people beginning new adventures, reaching for the stars. And, if you’re daring, you may even gift a blue rose to that one you love but doesn’t love you back.

White Roses: Pure Love and New Beginnings

Symbolizing purity and new beginnings, white roses have their own unique beauty to them. They blend with everything, which is, perhaps, part of where the idea of purity comes from. White roses also symbolize hope, youthfulness, innocence, loyalty, and young love. New beginnings favor white roses with the sense of a clean canvas.

Gift white roses to your first love or your friend heading into a new phase of life. Consider them for your wedding, your graduation, or the birth of a newborn, innocent baby.

Purple Rose Colors: Enchantment, Love at First Sight, and Royalty or Nobility

For the noble of heart, purple roses call. These symbolize royalty, nobility, enchantment, love at first sight, and wonder. The deep, alluring shades of purple also allude to captivating your audience.

This means that purple roses are perfect for occasions such as new performers taking on the stage, as a romantic gesture, or for someone embarking on a new adventure.

Lavender Roses: Wonder and Enchantment

Taking their lead from the darker embodiment of the color, lavender roses exude wonder and enchantment. These pale, lovely blooms denote inspiration, whimsy, and love at first sight. The flowers make the perfect offering for a new love, for weddings, and other tender, romantic moments.

Pink Roses: Admiration, Sweetness, and Elegance

A popular rose color for its clear, soft beauty, the pink rose offers many meanings to its receivers: refinement, sweetness, femininity, elegance, and admiration.

Pink roses make for the perfect gift for dancers after a performance, children needing a reminder of family affection, mothers on Mother’s Day, as a thank you for someone’s kindness, or as a romantic gesture toward someone sweet, wonderful, and kind.

Green Roses: Abundance and Growth

Representing growth and abundance in practically anything, green adds a unique touch to roses. The rare color occurs naturally as a mutation or may be hybridized or painted onto the roses. Green roses come in light, pale, lime to creamy-green shades. These roses are associated with plenty (abundance), wealth, fertility, personal and emotional growth, age growth, and rejuvenation.

Perfect occasions for green roses might include birthdays and graduations, baby showers, and times when folks make challenging but powerful decisions for themselves. You may also wish to bestow these beauties on couples or women trying to have babies or those in need of stability and peace.

Black Rose Colors: Change, Courage, or Death

As you might guess, black roses often represent death or grief. The flowers frequently are given as a sign of change and courage in the face of that change, as well. Many folks use black roses in macabre settings, like Halloween or funerals, but others use them for positive reminders in the shifting sands of time.

You may wish to offer your sympathy through black roses, provide a sense of mystery for a date, or release negative things from your life or a friend’s through these stunning, unusual dark blooms.

Yellow Roses: Innocence and Friendship

Most commonly associated with friendship, yellow roses provide a sense of joy and delight to their possessors. Warmth, gladness, affection, and caring all cling to the bright (or pale) petals. Back in the day, yellow roses communicated jealousy, but now those days are gone and friendship remains.

Yellow roses make for the perfect gift to a friend, a co-worker, or someone just needing a pick-me-up. These bright blooms also suggest good luck wishes, a note to remember good things, or a welcome back message.

Orange Rose Colors: Fascination, Energy, and Enthusiasm

Vibrantly colored orange roses give off a natural, excitement and energy. So, it probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that these beautiful buds represent energy, enthusiasm, fascination, admiration, and desire. The bright roses draw on both the red and yellow aspects of their symbolism and make for the perfect addition to bouquets or stand-alone roses.

The energy of orange roses makes them perfect for folks who need some positivity around them, need encouragement, or a color pop for vitality. Give them as a gift for folks embarking on a new journey or stage of life. Or acknowledge your pride in a friend or loved one with these vivacious flowers.

Peach Roses: Gratitude and Sincerity

If you want to offer your gratitude or demonstrate your sincerity or genuineness, present peach-colored roses. These delicate blooms present your thanks for actions, words, or support given by someone else to you. They also show appreciation and gratitude after a business dealing, particularly a tricky one.

If you want to show your genuineness and sincerity to someone, pass along the message via these beautiful, soft blooms. They make for a great date bouquet or a gift in times of relational challenges when trust may be lacking.

Red Rose Colors: Romantic Love, Passion, and Desire

The most commonly envisioned rose comes in red. These deep-colored blooms have symbolized love, romance, passion, and desire for centuries, even long before the Victorian era. This particular color rose’s meaning is almost universally understood.

While anyone may gift a red rose, the flower has particular meaning between romantic partners. Offering a single rose or a bunch can symbolize your deep love for one another or the passion you hold. Red roses make the perfect gift for romantic dates (though you might not want to give them on a first date!). They’re frequently gifted on Valentine’s Day, wedding or dating anniversaries, birthdays for romantic partners, or Sweetheart’s Day. Couples often opt to decorate their spaces with these beautiful blooms as a reminder of their love or blanket them onto the floor or bed of the site of a hopeful romantic tryst.

Burgundy Roses: Devotion and Dedication

Burgundy roses are most commonly associated with romantic relationships. These beautiful, darker red blooms symbolize faithfulness, devotion, or commitment from the giver to the receiver. This comes from the Victorian era when flowers found specific meaning in society.

Roses this color make for excellent gifts to accompany engagement, carried in wedding bouquets, or as gifts to a long-time romantic partner as a reminder of dedication and faithfulness to each other.

Ivory Roses: Charm and Grace

Folks use ivory roses to communicate support and affection for one another when no romantic ties are involved. The beautiful, off-white shade of the roses denotes thoughtfulness, grace, charm, perfection, or richness. For these reasons, the beautiful blooms are perfect tributes for performers or friends who need a confidence boost. Ivory roses are appropriate for weddings or school dances.

Salmon Roses: Excitement and Desire

Salmon blends together orange and pink shades in a single color. This means that salmon roses merge the two meanings with both excitement and desire (admiration) mingling together. Salmon roses are appropriately gifted in times of early romance, in advance of exciting events (such as a show opening or engagement), or as a symbol of long-lasting love that remains exciting and new.

Rainbow Roses: Uniqueness, Pride, and Hope

While these roses definitely don’t appear in the wild, rainbow roses may be found at some florists and specialized gardens. The beautiful array of colors on the petals helps to symbolize hope, pride, or uniqueness for the giver or the receiver. These beautiful blooms are appropriate for Pride Month or as gifts to a partner or friend who needs to know they’re appreciated. They’re also perfect for showing someone you support them or to symbolize hope in someone’s time of struggle or loss.