How many rose petals are in a cup? This has become one of the most-asked questions, and the answer is not necessarily a simple one. If you’re trying to compare quantities from one vendor to another, your first reaction may be to ask, “How many petals am I getting?” A simple quantity, however, doesn’t tell the full story.

For starters, the size of the petals can make a huge difference. In the photo below, each pile is exactly 25 petals.

Most people would obviously prefer the petals on the left, unless they happen to be too large to fit in a small package. When using the rose petals to decorate an aisle or tables, the larger the petals, the more a given quantity will cover. This is especially true on grass, where large quantities are often used to create a wedding aisle. Larger petals will stand out and create an aisle or border, while smaller petals can just fall down between the blades of grass.

Let’s be real, no one is actually counting every rose petal as they are packaged. Occasionally, when we want to determine how many a certain variety may be averaging, we will count out 10 cups of petals to get a total. This isn’t practical, however, when packaging orders.

We source only South American roses, in particular, from Colombia and Ecuador. They are know for the largest and highest quality roses in the world, especially the Ecuadorian roses. When compared to a typical domestically grown rose, the petals from South American roses can be several times larger.

For example, our popular Ivory rose petals could have from 20 to 40 petals per cup, while similar domestic petals could yield twice that number. If you have rose petals that are the size of a dime and flat, you might fit 100 petals per cup, but visually, they will not cover any more area that 30 large petals will.

Another major factor to consider is if all of the rose petals are fully separated. At Petal Garden, we are a stickler about “clumps”. Before the rose petals are freeze dried, they are removed from the rose petals and fully separated, which takes a great deal of time. We have trained a lot of “petalers” over the years, and whenever someone tries to finish faster, the first thing we notice are clumps of a half dozen petals or more still stuck together. If you are considering fresh rose petals, keep in mind that you will often find large clumps of petals.

This brings us to our final point of comparison, quality. We cringe when we hear of sweeping up discarded petals to use for a flower girl. At the opposite end of the spectrum, at Petal Garden, grade the petals before we freeze dry, then we pick through our Premium Petals nearly one by one as we package them. Those that don’t make the grade are sold as pathway or budget petals. When pressed for time with fresh petals from other vendors, there isn’t much time to sort out good from bad, so you can end up getting petals with rips, holes, and bruises, along with the outer guard petals (the ones with the green on them) and the small, oddly shaped inner petals. Yes, they all add into the petal count, but you wouldn’t want them on your tables at your wedding.

If you want the best for your wedding or special event, keep in mind these points to consider when trying to compare the number of petals:

• size (the larger the petals, the less per cup)
• shape (curved petals take up more space than flat ones)
• fully separated vs clumps (clumps may increase petal count, but need to be separated)
• quality (guard petals and small inner pieces shouldn’t count)

The easiest way to determine how much to order is to use our exclusive Rose Petal Quantity Calculator. This useful tool will tell you how many cups of petals you need based on our decades of experience.

There are so many varieties of roses, each with its own unique characteristics. The beauty of the rose should be preserved in its petals to make an amazing statement at your event.