In order to get Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ black roses somewhat consistently, players will need to breed them, and this process is actually a bit more complicated than some fans might expect. The complications here lies in the fact that flowers in ACNH actually carry recessive genes, and this has an impact on their offspring. While this concept does not need to be explained in full for the purposes of this guide, it does mean that players will need to breed very specific flowers to maximize their chances at black roses in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
RELATED: Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Every Type of Shrub and Can You Breed Them
More specifically, the best way to breed black roses in ACNH is by using red rose seeds or red roses that are found on mystery islands. For many players, obtaining red rose seeds will be the easiest of these options, as Leif will occasionally have them for sale even if they are not a flower that is native to a fan’s island. Thus, players that want to grow black roses in Animal Crossing: New Horizons should keep an eye on Leif’s inventory and purchase red rose seeds when they are available.
Once a player has some red rose seeds or red roses from mystery islands, they should then plant them in an ‘x’ pattern (pictured above) and water them daily. Doing this will occasionally cause a new rose to spawn in the spaces between these flowers, and that new flower has a 25% chance of being a black rose if one of the two aforementioned options are being used for cross-breeding.
To note, getting black roses in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the first step towards growing blue roses, which are the rarest hybrid flower in the game. Additionally, black roses are required for breeding gold roses, which is done with the help of a gold watering can, making them the key to unlocking many of ACNH’s most desirable flowers.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for the Nintendo Switch.
MORE: Animal Crossing: 10 Amazing Terraforming Makeovers
