I Recreated the Rainbow Rose from GI Joe and Here’s What Happened

There’s a scene burned into the memory of anyone who grew up watching G.I. Joe — that moment when a villain or scientist produces something so impossibly vivid, so theatrically beautiful, that even as a kid you wonder if it could ever exist in real life. For me, that image was always the Rainbow Rose. Multicolored, striking, almost alien in its perfection. It felt like something that belonged strictly in the realm of animation and fiction, not on a kitchen table in someone’s house. So naturally, I had to try to make one myself.

This is the story of how I went from a single white rose bought at a grocery store florist to something that genuinely looked like it had been plucked from a cartoon. It took a few tries, some patience, a lot of food coloring, and one very stained cutting board. But the result was worth every minute of it.

What Is the Rainbow Rose from G.I. Joe?

For those who may not have the same encyclopedic knowledge of 1980s and early-1990s animated series burned into their brains, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero featured a lot of outlandish science. COBRA’s various schemes involved weather machines, mind control devices, and all manner of impossible technology. Mixed into the background of these adventures were recurring visual details that stuck with viewers — and one of those details that has taken on a life of its own in the craft and gardening community is the idea of a multicolored rose. Whether it appeared in a specific episode or lives primarily in nostalgic collective memory as part of the show’s aesthetic, the concept is clear: a single rose bloom that displays multiple distinct colors, not blended or ombre, but genuinely segmented like a rainbow.

The good news is that this is not actually science fiction. The technique used to create a rainbow rose is real, it works, and it has been a staple of floral art for decades. The method relies on the natural process by which flowers absorb water through their stems. By splitting the stem and placing each section into a different color of water, the rose draws up each dye individually, and the pigment travels into separate sections of the petals. Over time, those sections develop their own distinct color, and you end up with a bloom that shows multiple colors at once.

It sounds almost too simple. And in some ways it is. But there is a surprising amount of nuance in getting it right, and that nuance is what makes the difference between a rose that looks like it came from a cartoon and one that looks like it was accidentally dropped in a paint spill.

What You Need to Get Started

The supply list for this project is genuinely short, which is part of what makes it so appealing. You do not need to be an experienced florist, you do not need expensive equipment, and you do not need to live near a specialty craft store. Almost everything on this list is available at a grocery store or pharmacy.

You will need a white rose — and it must be white. This is the single most important ingredient. A cream-colored or pale yellow rose will work to some degree, but the colors will come out muted and muddy. A pure white rose gives you a blank canvas, and the colors absorb vibrantly against it. Buy the whitest rose you can find, and try to choose one that is just beginning to open rather than one that is already fully bloomed or, worse, starting to wilt.

You will also need food coloring. Gel food coloring produces richer, more saturated results than liquid food coloring, but liquid works well enough for a first attempt. For a proper rainbow rose, you want at least four colors — red, yellow, green, and blue are the traditional rainbow standard. Adding orange and purple will make your result look even more impressive. Avoid colors that are too similar to each other, since subtle variations tend to blend together during absorption and become indistinct.

Gather as many small, narrow glasses or vials as you have colors. Shot glasses work perfectly. Small mason jars work. Flower tubes from a florist supply store are ideal because they are narrow and keep the stem sections from falling out. The key is that the containers need to hold the stem sections securely and keep each dye separated from the others.

You will need a sharp knife or scissors — a sharp knife is better because it makes cleaner cuts. Clean, sharp cuts allow the stem to absorb water more efficiently. Crushed or torn stem ends significantly reduce absorption.

Finally, have paper towels and patience on hand. The paper towels are for the inevitable food coloring spills. The patience is for the 24 to 48 hours this process takes before you see dramatic results.

The Technique: How to Split a Stem Without Destroying Everything

This is the part that intimidated me most before I tried it, and it turned out to be the least complicated step. Splitting the stem is exactly what it sounds like.

Start by trimming the bottom of the rose stem at a 45-degree angle. This is standard floral practice — the angled cut creates more surface area for water absorption compared to a flat cut. Make this cut fresh, meaning do it while the stem is submerged in a bowl of water if possible, which prevents air bubbles from forming and blocking absorption.

Now comes the splitting. Using your sharp knife, carefully cut the stem lengthwise from the bottom upward. For four colors, you want to make the stem into four equal sections. For six colors, six sections. The splits need to travel far enough up the stem that each section can reach a separate container — typically four to six inches is sufficient, though going longer does not hurt.

Be careful not to split past the point where you want the splits to stop. The splits should stay within the lower portion of the stem, well below the flower head. Think of it like the tines of a fork — the top of the fork is the flower, and the handle below has been divided into individual prongs.

Once the stem is split, carefully bend each section outward and place it into a separate container filled with colored water. This requires a bit of arrangement. If you have four sections, place four small glasses close together and fan the stem sections out into them. The flower head should rest above the containers, supported by the angles of the stem sections.

The colored water is simple to prepare: fill each container with about two to three inches of water and add enough food coloring to make it deeply saturated. You want the water to look almost opaque with color. Dilute dye produces weak results. Be generous.

The Waiting Game

Once your rose is set up with its split stem in the colored water, the hardest part begins: doing nothing.

The absorption process takes time. In the first few hours, you may not notice much change at all. By around six to eight hours, if you look carefully at the petals under good light, you will start to see the faintest hints of color beginning to appear, especially toward the outer edges of the petals. By 12 hours, the change is noticeable. By 24 hours, the colors are vivid and distinct. By 48 hours, you have something that looks genuinely extraordinary.

A few things to watch during this waiting period. Make sure the water in each container does not evaporate completely — if a stem section dries out, that color will stop absorbing, and you may end up with uneven results. Check the containers periodically and top them up if needed.

Keep the rose in a location that is not too warm and is away from direct sunlight. Warmth accelerates wilting, and a wilting rose cannot absorb water effectively. A cool room or a shaded spot on a counter works well.

You may notice that some colors absorb faster than others. In my experience, red and blue tend to be the most aggressive absorbers, showing up quickly and vividly. Yellow and green can be slightly more reluctant, especially with liquid food coloring. If you notice that certain colors are lagging, you can try adding a small amount of warm water to those containers, since warm water absorbs more readily than cold.

My Results: What Actually Happened

I will be honest about my first attempt. It worked, but it was not rainbow-rose-from-a-cartoon perfect. The colors were uneven — the red section was stunning, bold and bright against the white petals, but the green section was pale and barely visible. The blue looked lovely, and the yellow was essentially absent. The overall effect was more tie-dye than rainbow.

The lesson from attempt one was about dye concentration. I had been too conservative with the food coloring, and the result was a washed-out version of what I was going for. I also learned that the stem splitting was slightly uneven, meaning some sections of the stem were wider than others and therefore absorbing more water. Thinner sections absorbed less.

For my second attempt, I used gel food coloring for every color, mixed it to a much higher concentration, and was more careful about making the stem splits as even as possible. I also used a fresher rose — the first one had been sitting at the grocery store for a few days already, and the slightly older stem was less efficient at absorption.

The second rose was noticeably better. The colors were vivid across all four sections. Red was electric. Blue was deep and rich. Yellow was clearly yellow, not just a faint whisper of gold. Green was bright and clear. When I held it up to the light and turned it, it genuinely looked like something from a different world — or, more to the point, like something from an 80s cartoon.

For my third attempt, I went with six colors and spent an extra 12 hours letting it absorb. That was the one that stopped people in their tracks. Guests who came over and saw it sitting on the counter all asked the same question: is that real?

Tips for Getting the Best Results

After three roses and a lot of food coloring, here is what I know for certain.

Use the freshest white rose you can find. Ask at the floral counter when their shipments arrive, and buy on that day. A fresh, hydrated rose absorbs dye dramatically better than one that has been sitting out.

Gel food coloring is worth the extra few dollars. The colors are more concentrated and more vibrant than liquid alternatives. Wilton, AmeriColor, and ChefMaster are all excellent brands that are easy to find at craft stores or online.

Make your cuts clean and sharp. A dull blade crushes the stem tissues and reduces water uptake significantly. A sharp knife makes a clean cut and keeps the vascular tissue intact.

Let it absorb for longer than you think you need to. Twenty-four hours gives you good results. Thirty-six to forty-eight hours gives you great results. The colors continue to deepen as long as the rose is absorbing.

Keep the containers close together so the flower head is supported and does not droop to one side. If necessary, use rubber bands or tape to gently hold the stem sections together at the top while they fan out at the bottom.

Do not be discouraged if your first attempt is imperfect. The process itself teaches you what adjustments to make. A mediocre first rainbow rose still looks pretty remarkable, and a practiced second or third attempt looks genuinely stunning.

Why This Project Is Worth Your Time

There is something wonderful about a project that sits at the intersection of science and art. The rainbow rose is really a demonstration of plant biology — xylem tissue, capillary action, the way water moves through a living stem. But it looks like magic. Showing it to someone who has never seen it before produces a reaction that very few craft projects can claim: genuine surprise and delight.

It is also a project that scales beautifully. Once you understand the technique, you can experiment with different color combinations. Cool tones — blue, purple, teal — produce a dramatic, moody rose. Warm tones — red, orange, yellow — produce something that looks like fire. Pastel versions work beautifully for wedding or event flowers. You can make a single rainbow rose as a centerpiece, or make a dozen and arrange them together for an effect that is almost overwhelming in the best way.

The G.I. Joe connection is, admittedly, a personal one. But there is something satisfying about taking an image from childhood — something that seemed impossible and fantastical — and actually making it real. The rainbow rose from a cartoon becomes an actual rainbow rose on your kitchen counter. The gap between imagination and reality closes just a little, and you realize that the best kind of nostalgia is the kind that inspires you to create something.

Final Thoughts

If you have been curious about rainbow roses but thought the process was too complicated or too obscure to attempt, I hope this convinces you otherwise. The supplies are inexpensive, the technique is straightforward once you understand the principles behind it, and the results are genuinely spectacular. It is the kind of project that looks like it required professional skill but actually requires nothing more than a sharp knife, some food coloring, and a bit of patience.

Start with a single rose and four colors. Get a feel for the process, see how the colors develop in your conditions, and adjust from there. Then try six colors. Then try a whole bouquet. The only limiting factor is how many tiny glasses you can fit on your counter.

And if someone asks you where you got the idea, feel free to tell them the truth: from a cartoon about soldiers fighting a terrorist organization, because that is exactly the kind of absurd and wonderful source that good creative projects deserve.