Teal Flowers: Which Grow Teal, and Which Are Colored

Yes, teal flowers exist, but very few grow that color on their own. A handful of plants, like the jade vine and the green ixia, bloom in true blue-green. Most teal flowers you see in a shop, and every teal flower in our studio, are real blooms whose color was set by hand. Here is what grows teal in nature, why the shade is so rare, and how to live with it at home.

Are There Naturally Teal Flowers?

A few, and they are memorable. Nature makes plenty of blue and plenty of green, but it rarely mixes the two in a petal.

• Jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys). A climbing vine from the rainforests of the Philippines. Its claw-shaped flowers hang in long clusters, in a mint-to-turquoise shade that looks almost lit from within.
• Green ixia (Ixia viridiflora). A slender bulb from South Africa's Western Cape. Its star-shaped flowers are a clear turquoise with a dark, inky center. It is rare in the wild and rarely seen in florist shops.
• Hydrangeas. Grown in acidic soil, many hydrangeas bloom blue. As the heads age late in the season, some blue varieties fade toward green and take on a soft, teal-gray cast that growers call an antique finish.
• Sea holly (Eryngium). Not teal, strictly, but close in spirit: spiky, steel-blue flower heads on silvery stems that read blue-green in low light.

That is a short list. If you have searched for teal roses, teal tulips or teal orchids, they did not grow that way.

Why Is Teal So Rare in Nature?

Teal sits between blue and green, and both are harder for a flower than they look.

Blue petals depend on a narrow group of pigments, and on the right conditions inside the petal to show them as blue rather than purple or pink. Many flowers, roses among them, cannot make that pigment at all, which is why there has never been a naturally blue rose. Green in a petal usually comes from chlorophyll, the same green as the leaves, and most flowers lose it as they open so they stand out from their foliage.

A petal that holds both at once is unusual.

Are Teal Flowers Real?

A teal rose or peony can still be a real flower. It simply was not born that color.

Fresh-cut teal flowers are usually white or pale blooms that have drawn up a dye through the stem, or have been tinted on the petal. Artificial teal flowers are made from silk or plastic and were never grown at all.

Ours are real flowers, picked in full bloom and preserved. The natural sap is replaced with a plant-based glycerin solution, and food-safe dyes set the color at the same time. The petals stay soft rather than papery, the shade holds, and the flowers need no water.

How Teal Preserved Flowers Get Their Color

Preservation starts with a flower at its peak. The stems take up the glycerin solution, which keeps the petals supple, and the dye travels with it into every petal. That is why a preserved hydrangea can be an even, pastel blue from the outer florets to the center, and why a preserved rose can hold a clear crystal blue that no rose grows.

Because every bloom takes up color slightly differently, no two are exactly alike. A bouquet of blue hydrangeas will show a little variation from head to head, the way a garden would.

How to Style Teal Flowers at Home

Teal is a confident color, and it does not need much around it.

• With warm neutrals. Set blue-green flowers against oak, linen, cream plaster or terracotta, and they read calm rather than cold.
• With white. A single teal bloom beside white hydrangeas or daisies looks fresh and bright on a kitchen counter or a nightstand.
• With brass or smoked glass. Warm metal and dark glass bring out the depth in teal on a console or a bar cart.
• One color, one vessel. A cluster of blue hydrangeas in a plain vase says more than a mix of five colors.

Keep preserved flowers indoors, out of direct sun and away from vents and humidity. Sun fades any color, and teal is no exception.

Our Teal and Blue Arrangements

Our teal flower arrangements are made by hand in our New York studio, from real flowers preserved to last 1 to 3 years with care. A few to start with:

• Whispering Blue, a bouquet of pastel blue preserved hydrangeas, tied with blue ribbon.
• Skye, a looser bouquet in ruddy blue, with dried stems for texture.
• The Crystal Rose in Crystal Blue, a single eternity rose in a clear acrylic box, for a shelf or a desk.

Bouquets and boxed roses ship across the contiguous US. For more on how preserved flowers work, read what preserved flowers are.

Frequently asked questions

What flowers are naturally teal?

Very few. The jade vine, a tropical climber from the Philippines, and the green ixia, a South African bulb, both bloom in true turquoise. Some blue hydrangeas also fade toward a green-teal as they age.

Are teal roses real?

Not as grown. Roses cannot make blue pigment, so no rose grows teal. A teal rose is a real rose colored by dye, like our preserved roses, or an artificial one.

Do teal preserved flowers fade?

Slowly, and mostly in sunlight. Keep them out of direct sun and away from humidity, and the color holds for 1 to 3 years with care.

Can the color come off?

It can transfer if the flowers get damp or rub against fabric. Keep the petals away from upholstery and linens, and dry any damp stems gently with a tissue.

Do teal preserved flowers need water?

No. Never water them or stand the stems in water. They need a dry spot indoors, out of direct sun, and that is all.