Product development?

[amanzed]

Oh yes, this kind of practice is widespread in other consumer plants. The most recent example which comes to mind is blue dye-injected Phalaenopsis "Moth Orchid". (A friend was amazed and wanted to buy it until I told him it was dyed.) I think Gerberas are quite regularly dyed as well.

Edit: Doh! Bruce beat me to it with that link. I think we cross posted around the same time.

[peter]

I call this kidding the customer!

[Bruce]

"Kidding" is a lot nicer than the words I would use. On the other hand, a good percentage of these blue phals are expected to be "throwaways" - discarded after blooming - since it actually takes a modicum of knowledge to get them to bloom again, no matter what color.

[SkyClan Cat]

Well, what about those flowers glued to cacti to look like they have actually bloomed?

They give my fairy castle character. I would've picked it up off the door prize table even if it hadn't had them, though, because what attracted me to the plant in the first place was the idea that I might actually be able to keep a cactus alive.

Many of the strawflower cacti I've seen in stores, though... they tend to look extremely stupid (moreso than just generally having flowers stuck onto them) because of the huge, very conspicuous globs of glue around the flowers, and in some cases the cactus also has real flowers on it at the same time.

[John C]

[quote="daiv"]Hey I was just thinking.... Is this sort of thing done with other plants besides C&S?[quote]

I have seen some orchids popping up at local hardware stores that are obviously dyed blue, but the tag says it is a rare blue orchid that is supposed to bring some sort of good fortune.

[Ken Shaw]

Do you all remember these, from Hong Kong?

Gee, Buck, I missed those beauties! Looks like you bought them all up before I got my chance at them!

[SnowFella]

Only really seen that kinda thing done with cut flowers and food colouring. Did it a few times as a kid and the result can look spectacular.

Makes me wonder though what the result of feeding say a white spined cactus water with food colouring would be? Apart from the obvious of dyed soil would the colour get taken up by the roots and passed onto new growth?

[Peterthecactusguy]

Buck my feeling exactly. Those poor plants. If they could scream they would.

[daiv]

Makes me wonder though what the result of feeding say a white spined cactus water with food colouring would be? Apart from the obvious of dyed soil would the colour get taken up by the roots and passed onto new growth?

Something tells me that it might work with the flowers, but probably not the spines? Would be an interesting experiment to do on Echinopsis subdenudata for example.

OK so we have some dyed flowers such as Poinsettias and Orchids, but it seems that it is pretty much C&S that get the royal treatment with glued on flowers, spray paint and even googly eyes. I think we could concluded that C&S get the worst of it.

[amanzed]

That looks like a stain or dye to me rather than an opaque paint. And I don't think cactus spines are vascularized, so I don't think they'd take up dye from injections. I'm guessing they're dipped like Easter eggs or punk rock hair. If you hold the plant by the pot or root area and use a mild, food-coloring dye bath, I think you could easily dye the spines like this without badly hurting the plant. But gosh, maybe it is spray paint. That sounds more harmful... that stuff is nasty.

Otherwise it mostly hurts our eyes.

[Bruce]

Before we leave the subject, have you seen these tropical fish? (zebra danios, normally black and white striped)

http://www.blogiversity.org/forums/p/3716/4285.aspx

[Peterthecactusguy]

Amazed I would be worried about the paint coating the cells on the skin of the cactus and not letting it get the sunlight it needs....

Daiv, agreed because minus maybe cut flowers that are dyed I cant really think of anywhere else where they do all those "gimmicks" to get you to buy a plant.

[amanzed]

Hi Peterthecactusguy, yeah, exactly... with paint, I'd be worried about the plant's need, not only for light, but for air. That's why I think it's stain or dye. With its pores blocked, the plant would decline rapidly.