The process of coloring flowers at first glance may seem quite simple, but in nature there are a great many colors and tones that appear due to the complex interaction of pigments in plants with the environment. Colors with tones also depend on how natural dyes are placed in plant tissues. So, in what ways can you get flowers of a certain color.
Instructions
Step 1
For flowers cut for a bouquet, you can change the natural color of the petals. Try white flowers of a dahlia or rose, first dipped in a solution of fuchsin and then in potash. You will notice that the petals have turned a light blue. To obtain blue roses, which do not exist in nature, this method is used. You can also experiment with white hyacinths, gladioli, or tulips. But the growing white flowers of a rose can be made bright blue by watering the soil around the bush with cobalt acid.
Step 2
A number of information has been preserved that the famous German poet and botanist Goethe grew roses in a greenhouse made of blue glasses. It was claimed that he produced bluish flowers. Nowadays, the Japanese have used this method and got blue flowers.
Step 3
What if you need to make a white rose out of a red rose? It is known that anthocyanin tends to discolor when exposed to sulfur dioxide. Therefore, take a red rose and place it in an airtight vessel with a piece of smoldering sulfur lit there. After a few minutes, you will notice that the petals have turned white. By the way, after some, rather long time, the flower in the air will turn red again. This experiment can be done as well with asters, violets, gladioli, and other flowers containing anthocyanins.
Step 4
Immerse them in a sulfuric acid solution to repaint the purple flowers in bright red. Of course, the solution must be weak, otherwise the flowers will be damaged.
Step 5
Flowers with green petals look inconspicuous, but it is worth trying to paint them in this color, at least for the sake of experiment. Hold some kind of blue flower (for example, swamp forget-me-not) over the smoke of a lighted cigarette or cigarette. The blue flower will turn green almost instantly. The reason for this is ammonium carbonate, which is found in tobacco smoke and has an alkaline reaction. Ammonium carbonate penetrates into the tissues of the flower, after which it turns blue into green.
