The project goals were:

a) Theatrical functionality and fun

b) Reliability

c) Low cost and technical simplicity

I was given no budget to build the prop so I used what I had in my collection of parts for the most part.

The rose consists of a flexible piece of tube with a length of nylon grass trimmer line running through it.

A silk rose head is mounted to the tubing via a custom 3D-printed coupling.

Rose  petals with wire extensions are threaded onto the trimmer line inside the rose head.

The other end of the trimmer line is attached to a servo in the base which is in turn connected to an Adafruit Circuit Playground.

An HC12 transceiver is also connected to the microcontroller.

When a separate Arduino remote control (the green box) sends an appropriate command to the rose, it can:

a) Retract the trimmer line a fixed amount to drop a rose petal and cycle the on board lights in a shimmering effect

or

b) nudge the retraction of the trimmer line to control the dropping of a petal

or

c) Cycle the lights separately.

The project turned out better than I could ever have hoped!