Marino’s, a local floral shop owned by Sam Marino, is currently being swarmed with patrons looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day rose.
This may not be such an easy task, as some believe a rose’s color tells the true intention of the precious flower.
Others, like Marino, leave the belief up to his customers.
“We don’t interpret the colors ourselves,” Marino said, “We let the customer interpret that.”
According to H. Burk Heroman, III, COO of “The Original” Heroman’s, color interpretation was pretty popular in all throughout the nineties.
“It’s come back in the past two years,” Heroman said. “The customers have started to ask for it again.”
Heroman thinks the roses have meanings, but he would rather let the customer use their own judgment on the color implications.
“I don’t think about it as much as my customers do,” Heroman said.
For those who do see meanings in rose color, it is important to know exactly what message is being sent by choosing an appropriate color to match the intent.
Florists cannot keep enough red roses in stock on Valentine’s Day. Heroman reported to have, on shipment, ordered 10,000 red roses alone.
Red is the standard in rose colors as well as the most versatile. Red traditionally stands for love, but is also linked to beauty, respect, congratulations, bravo (in a theatrical sense), or passion. A single red rose simply means “I love you.”
White, another common color, means purity, innocence, reverence, humility, or charm. Bridal white is the rose color of a strong, heavenly marriage.
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However, Marino questions this view of white roses.
“Take white,” Marino said, “Some call it purity, some call it peace. When you start labeling colors like that, it gets confusing.”
Red and white, when given together, signify strong unity.
Pink is an appreciatory color, suggesting gratitude, grace, happiness, or admiration.
Yellow is a joyful color, showing friendship, gladness, delight, or a new beginning. According to Marino, yellow can also stand as jealousy, another example of conflicting color meanings.
Orange is a fiery rose filled with desire, enthusiasm, and fascination. Also included in the orange spectrum are coral, peach, and salmon roses.
Yellow and orange, when combined, convey passionate thoughts.
Black can be seen as a dark, inauspicious rose which symbolizes death. Not the usual Valentine’s Day gift.
While many may not agree on the colors and meanings, Heroman and Marino seem to agree that the customer should use their personal tastes when selecting roses.
“There’s a percentage that has their favorite color,” Heroman said. “It doesn’t matter what the color means.”