The World's First* Blue Rose - blue rose APPLAUSE

NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning in early November, Suntory will for the first time, introduce their internationally renowned blue rose APPLAUSE in North America. With nearly 100% blue-pigmented petals, blue rose APPLAUSE is the world's first blue rose, a technically sophisticated and wondrously stunning flower with a delicate blue color.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110914/LA67759)

The hue of the dawn sky, with a refined and colorfully refreshing scent, blue rose APPLAUSE captivated the international audience when it first went on sale in Tokyo in 2009. Now, Suntory brings this breathtaking flower to the United States and Canada. An exquisite gift for special occasions including proposals, anniversaries and birthdays, the blue rose APPLAUSE will be sold in North America at select florists**.

An object of fiction

In folklore past and present, a blue rose has represented the impossible. From Russian fairytales to the Rudyard Kipling poem "Blue Roses," the unattainable blue rose has long been a symbol of mystery, secrecy, love and eternal dreams. In "Blue Roses," a woman demands the elusive flower to test her suitor's love and resolve, leaving him, the narrator, "Half the world I wandered through / Seeking where such flowers grew."

This mystique is not unfounded; roses have been growing for at least 5,000 years and have long been objects signifying desire and romance. However because roses lack the plant pigment delphinidin, which gives a blue coloring, a naturally occurring blue rose is impossible. Despite the tens of thousands of varieties of roses that have been created through traditional rose breeding, achieving a blue rose had still remained out of reach.

Redefining the impossible

Suntory embarked on research with the aim of developing a blue rose in 1990 with their Australian subsidiary, Florigene, now Suntory Flowers. Success was finally achieved in 2004 after introducing a gene for blue pigment from a pansy. In 2009, after nearly two decades of research and developmental work, sales of the blue rose began for the first time. Thanks to Suntory's unflinching commitment to a dream long thought to be impossible, the blue rose saw the light of day.

Suntory selected the name APPLAUSE as the name for its blue rose as a symbol of congratulations for those whose dreams have come true, as well as of encouragement for those pursuing a dream, whatever it may be. Now, this symbol of fulfilled desire will be available to consumers in North America for the first time, a tribute to scientific advancement, floral beauty, and the stunning conquest of a seemingly impossible goal.

*With nearly 100% blue-pigmented petals

**Prices to vary between florists

SOURCE blue rose APPLAUSE