The original rose had a single row of sunny yellow petals. Humans have been crossbreeding roses by hand for hundreds, possibly thousands of years, selecting for traits such as flower color, petal density, and plant habits. But yellow roses haven’t always had positive associations. In Victorian times the yellow rose conveyed jealousy. Flower dictionaries were in vogue then to help decipher the cryptic communications when giving flowers. Even the way the bouquets were presented had context. If they were offered with the left hand, the answer to the unasked question was no, while the right hand signaled yes. More recently, yellow roses have been rebranded to express joy, trust, and are a good choice for a friend, or if you are unsure of the relationship. The floriography of the red rose is associated with deep devotion, admiration, and a supreme expression of love. A bouquet of two dozen long stem, de-thorned, red roses delivered on St. Valentine’s Day is an over-the-top romantic gesture. Remember that single scarlet rose presented to the contestant’s choice of romantic partner in the final episode of The Bachelor. Maybe yellow would be the better choice.

*Publisher’s Note:

Since IFL Science is behind a paywall, here’s a related article for non-subscribers, “Red, pink or white, all roses were once yellow says genomic analysis” by Sanjukta Mondal at Phys.org (18 April 2025):
https://phys.org/news/2025-04-red-pink-white-roses-yellow.html

Link reconfirmed on 6 August 2026.

Bio: Cherie Hunter Day