ARS - Petal Count in Rose Blooms
The number of petals is a measure of the fullness of the flower. Roses range from the simplicity of five petals (one rose is known to actually have only four!) up to blooms with 100+. The Petal Count definitions are published yearly in the Handbook for Selecting Roses.
The American Rose Society defines the following petal counts:
SINGLE - 4 to 8 petals
SEMI-DOUBLE - 9 to 16 petals
DOUBLE - 17 to 25 petals
FULL - 26 to 40 petals
VERY FULL - more than 40 petals
The terms 'fully double' and 'very double' are often seen in publications but are not official, nor have petal counts been assigned to these terms.
3/07
