• 11 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Rose Bush

A rose bush from roots to bloom, then one cane up close.

Parts of a Rose Bush

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
More options

Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Bloom
  2. Flower bud
  3. Spent bloom
  4. Hip
  5. Cane
  6. Lateral
  7. Sucker
  8. Bud union
  9. Roots
  10. Five-leaflet leaf
  11. Bud eye

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: inside the rose flower

All 11 parts on the diagram

Show the list

The whole bush 9

  1. Bloom A bloom is a flower that has fully opened.
  2. Flower bud A flower bud is a bloom still closed. The green sepals cover it until it opens.
  3. Spent bloom A spent bloom is an old flower. Cutting it off is called deadheading. Left on the bush, it can turn into a hip.
  4. Hip A hip is the fruit of a rose. It holds the seeds.
  5. Cane A cane is a stem of the rose. The main canes grow up from the base of the bush.
  6. Lateral A lateral is a side shoot growing out from a cane.
  7. Sucker It grows from the rootstock, below the bud union. So it is not the rose that was planted. Growers remove suckers.
  8. Bud union Where the rootstock had the rose variety grafted on. How deep it is planted depends on the climate.
  9. Roots The roots anchor the bush and take up water and nutrients.

A cane up close 2

  1. Five-leaflet leaf A rose leaf is made of several leaflets, often five. Growers cut a spent bloom off just above a five-leaflet leaf.
  2. Bud eye A bud eye can grow into a new stem. Pruning cuts are made just above a bud eye that faces outward.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 against sources read that day. (1) American Rose Society, Basic rose terminology, https://rose.org/basic-rose-terminology/: bud union, cane (main or lateral stems), hip, sepals covering the flower bud, buds that grow after pruning or deadheading. (2) RosaPedia, The gardener's guide to the parts of a rose, https://rosapedia.com/the-gardeners-guide-to-the-parts-of-a-rose/: bud union, suckers from below it, the bud eye where a leaf stem meets the cane, canes, roots. (3) University of Illinois Extension, Roses: Pruning and Planting, https://extension.illinois.edu/roses/pruning and https://extension.illinois.edu/roses/planting: canes, suckers on grafted roses, laterals, spent blooms and hips, cutting above a five-leaflet leaf, planting depth of the bud union. (4) Oregon State University Extension, Pruning roses, https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/flowers-shrubs-trees/pruning-roses: cutting above an outward-facing bud eye, canes, lateral canes. (5) Antique Rose Emporium, Rose anatomy, https://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/blogs/how-tos/rose-anatomy-understanding-the-parts-of-a-rose: roots, canes, flower buds, spent blooms and hips. (6) University of California IPM, Roses: Cultural Practices, https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7465.html: graft union, the 5-leaflet leaf, spent blossoms and deadheading. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This is a grafted rose bush as a pruning guide draws it, from the roots to the blooms. The second drawing is a piece of cane up close, with a leaf and the bud eye a gardener prunes to.

Read the full guide

From the blooms down to the roots

Numbers 1 to 4 are the flower at four ages: a bloom, a flower bud, a spent bloom and a hip. Numbers 5 and 6 are the stems: a cane and a lateral. Numbers 7 to 9 are at the base: a sucker, the bud union and the roots. Numbers 10 and 11 are up close: a five-leaflet leaf and a bud eye.

  • To take off a spent bloom, growers cut just above a five-leaflet leaf.
  • A sucker starts below the bud union. A new cane of the rose you planted starts at or above it.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a rose bush?

Roots, the bud union on a grafted bush, and the canes, which are the main stems. Laterals are the side stems. The canes carry leaves, flower buds, blooms, spent blooms and hips. A sucker is a stem from the rootstock.

What is a bud eye on a rose?

A small swelling on the cane, just above the place where a leaf joins it. A new stem can grow from it, so pruning cuts are made just above a bud eye, usually one that faces out of the bush.

What is the bud union on a rose bush?

The knob at the base of a grafted rose, where the chosen variety was joined to the rootstock. The canes grow from it. Roses grown on their own roots do not have one.

What is a sucker on a rose bush?

A stem that the rootstock sends up from below the bud union. It is a different rose from the one grafted on top, so growers remove it.

More quizzes

Show 6 more

Browse Science Quizzes