When trying to pick the perfect roses for every occasion, one important thing to consider is the meaning of each rose color.
While some roses are appropriate for professing your love, other rose color meanings are more versatile. One of these multipurpose options is the pink rose. Pink roses’ meaning is adaptable for a range of situations. Depending on the shade, pink roses can symbolize gratitude, admiration, comfort or joy.
To determine whether pink roses are the right choice for you, keep reading to learn their history, meaning, uses and more.
The Pink Rose’s Background
The history of pink roses begins around 35 million years ago, when the first trace of a rose was found in fossils. The cultivation of garden roses originated in China about 5,000 years ago. During the Roman Empire, roses were used as medicine, perfume and confetti.
Toward the end of the 18th century, cultivated roses from China spread to the Western world. Most old roses cultivated before 1867 were in shades of pink, and they were utilized and loved by many.
Empress Josephine Bonaparte, Napoleon’s wife, collected hundreds of roses for her Parisian garden. During the Victorian era, restrictions on socially acceptable communication required people to convey flirtation, love or even negative emotions through floriography, or the secret language of flowers. Pink roses were used as a sign of warmth and affection during this time.
Today, pink roses continue to hold a special meaning.
What Do Pink Roses Mean?
Pink roses represent gratitude, admiration, grace, comfort and joy. However, the exact meaning of pink roses varies by shade. Check out the meanings of the most common shades of pink roses — light pink, hot pink and dark pink — below.
What Do Light Pink Roses Mean?
Since they’re the gentlest shade of pink, light pink roses convey a sense of comfort, femininity and grace. The pale pink color is commonly used to show gratitude for loved ones and sympathy for those who lost a loved one.
- Represents: Femininity, grace
- Conveys feelings of: Comfort, gratitude, sympathy
- When to use: Thank-yous, hardships, loss
What Do Hot Pink Roses Mean?
Hot or medium pink roses have the most varied meaning of the three shades. Like light pink roses, medium pink roses can be used to show appreciation for important people in your life. With their more vibrant color, they can also convey a sense of joy and celebration for special occasions.
- Represents: Joy
- Conveys feelings of: Appreciation, happiness
- When to use: Thank-yous, congratulations
What Do Dark Pink Roses Mean?
Just as light pink and hot pink roses, dark pink roses also represent feelings of gratitude for those you care for most. In addition, when gifted to a loved one, their deep pink color indicates a high level of admiration.
- Represents: Honor
- Conveys feelings of: Gratitude, admiration
- When to use: Thank-yous, celebrations
When Should I Gift Pink Roses?
The meaning of pink roses isn’t necessarily romantic, so they make a versatile gift for a range of uses and occasions. Here are some of the best times to hand-deliver or send a bouquet of pink roses:
Pink Rose Uses
Since pink roses symbolize gratitude, femininity and comfort, there are a variety of uses for them. Take a look at the reasons to reach for pink roses for each of these purposes:
- Thank-you: All pink roses symbolize gratitude, so they make the perfect thank-you gift to show your appreciation for friends and family.
- Home decor: Light pink roses represent femininity and grace, making them an elegant addition to your workspace, kitchen, or bedroom.
- New love: Pink roses don’t come with the romantic implications of red roses, providing a pressure-free gift for a potential love interest.
- Death of a loved one: Light pink roses convey sympathy and comfort for those whose loved one has passed on, as well as appreciation for the departed.
Pink Rose Occasions
In addition to the uses for pink roses, these flowers are ideal gifts for a wide range of special occasions. Check out the most common times to gift someone pink roses:
- Wedding: Since they symbolize joy and admiration, all shades of pink roses make a great wedding gift to celebrate and show appreciation for the newlyweds.
- Mother’s Day or Father’s Day: Pink roses symbolize gratitude, making them the perfect way to show how much you admire your wise, supportive role models on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
- Performance: After a loved one’s performance, recital or showcase, pink roses convey your admiration and celebration of their talent.
- Graduation: Any shade of pink rose provides the perfect celebratory gift for a friend or family member’s graduation.
Pink Rose Bouquet Ideas and Meanings
Want to add some variation to your bouquet? Incorporating other rose colors and flower types can give your arrangement a whole new meaning. Read through these unique pink rose bouquet ideas and the meanings behind each one:
Pink and White Roses
White roses symbolize new beginnings. When combined with the appreciation and joy conveyed by pink roses, a pink and white rose bouquet makes an excellent graduation, anniversary or wedding gift to wish your loved ones a hopeful future.
Pink and Yellow Roses
The meaning of the yellow roses is optimism, making it the perfect color to pair with the joyful pink rose. A yellow and pink rose bouquet provides a cheery pop of color for your home and a fitting gift for happy occasions like promotions, weddings and baby showers.
Pink and Red Roses
Red roses are the most romantic of the rose colors. You can combine the romance of red roses with the joy and admiration of pink roses as a token of love, appreciation and happiness for that special someone.
Other Pink Flower Arrangements
You can add even more variation to your bouquet of pink flowers by branching out beyond roses. Pink alstroemerias represent friendship and devotion, and pink or red carnations represent admiration, love and affection. In combination with pink roses, this pink and red bouquet conveys deep appreciation and love for the recipient.
Pink Roses FAQs
Still have unanswered questions about pink roses’ meaning? Continue reading for all the answers you need before buying your bouquet.
What Do Pink Roses Symbolize?
Pink roses symbolize grace, admiration, gratitude, comfort and joy, but each shade of pink carries its own meaning. Light pink roses mean comfort, elegance and gratitude. Hot pink roses represent thankfulness and joy. Lastly, dark pink roses convey deep appreciation and admiration.
What Do Pink Roses Mean in a Relationship?
When gifted in a relationship, pink roses signify a new, exciting romance. While red roses convey deeper love, pink roses indicate a blossoming relationship with the potential for more profound feelings in the future.
Do Pink Roses Mean Love?
Unlike red roses, pink roses aren’t always meant to show deep romantic love. However, pink roses represent love in other ways, since they symbolize the admiration, gratitude and joy you might feel toward another person.
What Do Pink and White Roses Mean?
White roses with pale pink tips mean happiness and new beginnings. These pink and white roses make great gifts for anniversaries, weddings and other celebratory occasions.
Before picking a bouquet, it’s important to understand the flower meanings that come with each arrangement. The pink roses’ meaning is incredibly diverse, making it a great fit for a range of uses and occasions.
If you’re in the market for pink roses, check out our pink rose bouquet or choose from one of our other pink rose flower arrangements. No matter what you choose, the presence of pink roses can provide you or someone you love with grace, comfort, appreciation and happiness.
