Rose Glossary A - F!
Anti-transpirant: A spray, usually water based, that when applied to the canes and leaves of a rose.

Antique rose: A casual term used to describe old roses.  Old garden roses after 1867.

ARS: American Rose Society, PO Box 30,000, Shreveport, LA 71130.  An association of over 20,000 rose
enthusiasts, dues include a subscription to The American Rose magazine.

Asexual reproduction:  1.  Reproduction by cloning.  2.  The means by which hybrid roses are reproduced through
either budding or growing a cutting on its own roots.

Balling: The inability of a bud to open into a bloom because excess moisture has caused the petals to stick together.

Bareroot: Any plant presented in a dormant state without soil on its roots.  

Basal break: vigorous new shoots that emerge directly from the Bud Union.  That part of the rose that should be
spared when pruning at the expense of older, less vigorous growth.

Blackspot: Disease caused by the fungus Marssonina rosae that manifests itself during warm, humid weather.  
Symptoms start as black spots on the leaves.

Blind shoot: A stem that fails to develop a bud, often in response to low light and temperature levels.

Bordeaux mixture: A mixture of copper sulfate, lime and water used as a fungicide to control downy mildew and
other fungal diseases.

Bud (Flower): The swollen portion at the end of a stem that will mature into a flower.

Bud eye: The swollen area found near the union of the leaf with the stem that will grow into a new stem.

Bud union: The swollen area at the top of the shank from which new canes (basal breaks) emerge.  

Budding: A means of propagating a hybrid rose in which a bud eye of one rose is inserted under the bark of a
rootstock so that the vigor of the roots will cause the budeye to grow.  

Budwood: Mature or semi-mature stems harvested as a source of bud eyes for new propagation.

Calyx: The group of tough outer petals that protect the bud before it opens.  Individually these petals are called
sepals.

Cane: The supportive branches of a rose bush.  Canes are distinguished from stems in that they have hardened and
have greater caliper.

Climbing Rose: The name given to the climbing form of a bush rose, roses originate in a climbing form.

CLuster-flowered rose: The name used to describe the roses that are floribundas.

Cornell Formula:  A fungicide mixture made of household ingredients: baking soda, vinegar, water, and vegetable
oil.

Cultivar (aka: variety): A cultivated variety selected for propagation based on specific characteristics, such as form,
fragrance, color, disease resistance.  Wild or species roses are not cultivars.

David Austin: The contemporary British Hybridizer who originated the English Rose class.

Deadhead: A means of encouraging a faster repeat of bloom by removal of the spent blooms just above a 5 leaflet
set.

Disbud: The propagation of a larger individual bloom by the removal of young sidebuds or the propagation of a
larger spray by the removal of a central, dominant bud.

Double Rose: A rose form comprised of more than 24 petals.

Dr. Huey (aka: Huey): The dominant rootstock of the American garden rose trade.

English Rose: A new class of roses in which the repeat blooming habits of modern roses are combined with the
form and fragrance of old garden roses.

Epsom Salts: Magnesium sulfate.  When used as a fertilizer, Epsom salts provides a ready source of magnesium,
which serves as the hub of the chlorophyll molecule.

Exhibition Rose: A rose that is recognized for its ability to produce classically shaped blooms atop long stems of
clean foliage for display in competitions.

5-Leaflet Set: Looking down the stem from the bud, a cut just above the first 5-leaflet set is the point at which a
spent bloom should be removed-as in dead heading.

Floribunda (aka: Cluster-flowering) A class of modern roses in which the blooms are presented in clusters.

Fungicide: A spray intended to control the growth of roses diseases like mildew, rust and blackspot.
Oklahoma Rose Society