Will White Flowers Pick Up Color of Dyes?

Dyeing White Flowers

• To dye a white flower, like a carnation, fill a vase or a plastic container with water. Add the desired shade of food dye to the water and trim the stems of the flowers. Place the flowers in the colored water; the flower absorbs the dye in a matter of hours. Leaving the flowers in the dye for a longer period of time creates a more intense color. You can even dye a flower two different colors by splitting the stem and placing each part of the stem in two different containers.

Why This Method Works

• Flowers, like any living thing, require water to stay healthy. When you remove flowers from the ground or cut the stems, flowers are kept in water to keep them alive. The leaves and petals of a flower are made up of microscopic stomates, or tiny holes, which evaporate the water the flowers take in through its stem. By adding dye to the water, the flowers drink the dye through the stem, and evaporate it through its petals, causing them to change colors.

Why Dye White Flowers?

• Green carnations are often seen on St. Patricks Day. Dyed flowers can be used as a boutonniere or corsage, or as a decoration or centerpiece for a wedding or other festive event. Dyeing white flowers with kids teaches how plants stay healthy and makes science come alive before their eyes. Dyeing carnations can also be a fun do-it-yourself project to add a touch of color to your home.

Dyeing Flowers as a Science Experiment

• Dyeing flowers can easily be made into a science experiment. Add more colors of food dye and time each one to see how quickly each color dyes the flowers. Adding ingredients to the water, such as sugar, is another way to experiment with dye and flowers. Add sugar in varying amounts to two containers; leave one container without sugar and see what happens to the flowers.