I am searching for a stiff buttercream recipe that will hold a rose instead of "wilting" so quickly. Or am I just better off doing RI roses?

dont use so much liquid in your icing and they will be fine. I use the same icing for icing and roses but most people have a hard time with soft icing.

I just keep adding powdered sugar until it's stiff enough consistancy for my liking. If you have to use a lot of food coloring to get a dark desired color (and it's liquid instead of gel or paste), you might need to stiffen it up even more with ps. Just make sure it isn't so stiff that the edges of your roses look ragged.

I have a very simple buttercream recipe that works great on roses. I use it for all of my flowers. If you look in the recipes, look for Geechigirl's Crusting Buttercream.