Be careful of those Rose petals this holdiay..Go Organic

"Roses are dipped, blossom first, into a barrel of fungicide to prevent botrytis, the fungus that causes unsightly gray or brown splotched on roses. So I watched as bundles of roses went into the barrel of fungicide, head first, then got turned over and dipped again stem first. This is the nastiest job in the production room. The men handling the roses wore respirator style masks.""So...,", I said to one of the production managers, trying to sound casual as I watched the flowers being dunked in fungicide,"about this dip. Does it remain on the flowers long?" "No," he said, " the more time that passes, the more it loses its effectiveness. As a contaminant for humans, it's very low. "But"-and the production worker flashed me a warm smile-" I would never recommend that you take a bath of rose petals. Never."

from Amy Stewart, the author of Flower Confidential

Go to Whole Foods for places that sale organic flowers to make sure organic credibility.