The Enigmatic Blue Orchid

​The buzz around blue orchids has been pretty hot for several years now.  Blue is a rare flower color in any plant and the Holy Grail of flower colors for most orchid breeders.  So far, no naturally blue-flowered orchids have been discovered or bred—at least, nothing as vibrantly blue as these orchids on the right.
The blue color in these blooms is actually just a blue dye that was injected in the bud spike before the flowers developed.  The plants that are most often used for this technique have naturally white flowers to make the dye more vibrant.  There’s nothing unhealthy or dangerous about this technique; you just have to understand that if that plant blooms again, the flowers will be white. 

How can you tell?

1. Blue is a rare flower color and not seen naturally in orchids.
2. The blooms change color from base to tip of the of the bud spike.  In a normal bud spike (where the flower color is natural) the flowers are all nearly identical.  However, in these dyed flowers, the flowers are darkest closer to where the dye was injected and get lighter the further away the blooms are from the injection site.
3. Look for the injection site—the needle used to inject the dye will leave a small mark.  Very often, the site will be covered with horticulture tape or wax to prevent infection.

How does it work?
Plants send a lot of fluids and nutrients to developing blooms.  By injecting the dye into the bud spike, the dye gets sent along with those nutrients and water into the flowers.  If the host orchid naturally has white-colored flowers, there are no extra pigments that can contribute to the color of the flower, so the dye colors the flowers very brightly. 
You may have tried something similar with carnations as a kid. I know I did.   It’s even simpler than dying orchid blooms because there’s no needle required.  All you do is cut a light-colored carnation flower and put the stem in some water.  Add a couple drops of your favorite food dye and let the carnation go.  As it takes up the water/dye over the next couple days, your flower will gradually turn the color of your dye.