Coloring cut flowers

This is a very simple project. It can be a little time consuming but most of the time is what I call 'wait time'. The time spent waiting for the results to happen.

Supplies:

White flowers (Carnations & daisies work the best but most white flowers work wonderfully)

Scissors

Glass vase (Glasses or mason jars work fine too. Do not use plastic because the dye will stain it.)

Food coloring (It takes a lot of coloring. Approx 22 drops per 1/2 cup water)

Warm water

Color wheel

DYING FLOWERS A SINGLE COLOR:

If you want a color other than the red, blue, yellow or green that standard food coloring comes in you'll need to remember the color wheel so you can mix the color. 

Make sure you are using healthy blooms. Do not use any that are even the slightest bit wilted as these ones will not 'drink' to absorb the coloring. Cut your flowers (under water) at an angle leaving them slightly longer than you want them for your arrangement. Cutting them under water prevents air bubbles from blocking the little tubes in the stem that the water flows through. Fill your vase with room temperature water and add food coloring. Place cut flowers in the vase and let them soak so they can 'drink' the dye. This can take anywhere from a few hours to days depending on how bold you want your colors to be. The longer they are in the dye to more intense their color will be. Once they are to your desired color be sure to retrim them before putting them in an arrangement.

If you're putting them in a vase rather than a basket arrangement using foam, you will need to re-trim them every couple of days so they can keep getting the water & food they need. Trim 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch off. Be sure to dump out all the water, clean the vase and refill with fresh water and food. Be sure to use a cut flower food to keep your blooms healthy as long as possible. 

DYING THE SAME FLOWER MORE THAN ONE COLOR:

If you would like to color your flowers more than one color you can slice the stem in half the long way starting at the bottom and working upward. An xacto knife actually works best for this. Be sure you're making a crisp clean cut. You do not want to crush the stem or it won't take up water.

Make the slice long enough so you can put one side in one container of water and the other side of the stem in another container of different colored water.

I had previously dyed the flower above with just red coloring. I have sliced it and now have one part in red and one part in blue. I'll post an 'after' photo with the results. I'd like a red/white/blue combination but most likely will end up with a purplish/white/blue combo.

If you start with a colored flower you will get a mixture of that color and whatever color of water you use. This is another time the color wheel will come in handy if you can't remember it from elementary school. 

Example: If you pick a red flower and water it with blue you should end up with a purple flower.

If you use a yellow flower and water it with blue you should get a green bloom.

(I can't verify the flower colors achieved because I have not personally used colored flowers to start with.)

You could use this as a science or art project for middle school kids. I don't recommend this project for small children since food coloring can be unfriendly and stain a lot of things. This also is probably more time consuming and would test the patience of small children since it can take hours and days to complete.

If you try this with colored flowers be sure to share your results by posting a link in the comments. I'd love to see how they turn out.

Happy Gardening!