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| In my unending perusal of online and other catalogues, this forum, and various other rose-centric media, I've come to realize how important the name is -- but you know this already! I admit I am partial to literary/English/Shakespearian rose names, or anything French. DH laughs at my pretensions, but I can't help shuddering when I come across a rose named something awful. Like "Ch-Ching." I think that one's the worst. What's the idea? The grower will make a mint selling this yellow blob to foolish gardeners? Nothing against the rose itself, but the name is a turnoff. So is "Marshmallow Fluff." Yeggh! Sticky, gooey, oversweet and diabetes-inducing ... I'll pass. "Iceberg"? Does the word "Titanic" mean anything to you? To me it means unmitigated disaster ... "Jude the Obscure"? Deeeee-pressing. I read that book. Three small children commit suicide. No thanks. "Oh My!" is another loser. Weak and bloodless. "Ketchup and Mustard"? You gotta be kidding. Someone get the paper towels -- there's a mess on the table. Now I ask you: what's got more appeal? "Wing-dings" or "Wollerton Old Hall"? Nothing against any of these roses, despite their unfortunate names. How influential are names in your rose purchases? If you say, "Not at all," my eyebrows will go way, way up ... Of course I realize that different roses are aimed at different consumers, and that DA, for example, knows all about people like me and aims their offerings in that direction. Yet I refuse to believe that any sentient being is proud of growing an ugly-named rose. Opinions? Brickbats? Comments? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Sexy Rexy always comes up in these bad name threads but personally I think it's cute and totally unobjectionable. Some of the ones that are completely unpronounceable bug me but all in all I don't think I've ever come across one that really turned me off enough not to buy it. It's the bloom I grow them for not the names. Besides, so many of them have alternate names that you can always just pick one of those to call it instead. |
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| The name of a rose has almost no impact on my decision to purchase it, but if it has something like "Sexy Rexy" as the name I will probably never buy it. It just seems way too inappropriate and it would be really weird (and uncomfortable) for me to say the name to another person when I never talk like that. |
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| 'Weight Watchers Success' |
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| This. Here's the link to prove I'm not making it up. |
Here is a link that might be useful: badly named old HT
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- Posted by Nippstress 5-Nebraska (My Page) on Wed, Mar 5, 14 at 15:44
| Ewww, bluegirl you are right in that one. Only possible a century ago, but that one desperately needs a different use name. Other rose names that come up under worst names include Golden Showers, for the unfortunate connotation, and Peaudouce, named for a diaper company. The latter has been renamed Elina around here, and that's her name in my yard. I quite like Happy Butt as a name, in fact I bought it mostly for its name and the story behind it, but it's not everyone's thing. Personally, I'd include Rosie O'Donnell, but that's purely because of my reaction to the person it's named for. I might in a pinch buy it, though I'm glad instead to buy Cliff Orent's sport Trump Card. Too bad that one turns out to be named for Donald Trump, but since it's about winning out over said Trump I'm game with that. Cynthia |
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| Roger Lambelin, named for a truly despicable bigot. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Some History
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| I almost included "Sexy Rexy" in my original post but the fact is 1) as a preteen I had a crush on Rex Harrison (dates me, I know) and 2) I saw that rose at the Huntington and loved it. Presently I'm trying to figure out if I have room for it. Yes, bluegirl, you found the worst of all. There's also a rose called "Black Boy" - not sure if it's the same one, only slightly cleaned up. Anyone know? Hoovb - How could I omit "Weight Watchers Success"?? Nothing against the diet -- it's worked for me and countless others -- but that name made me groan out loud. "Fisherman's Friend" is a poor choice as well. You might as well have the "Bank of America Rose", the "Poptarts Rose", and I suppose "the Walmart rose". I don't think I would grow "Happy Butt". Maybe it were entitled "Felicitous Posterior" ... Richard, thank you for posting about "Roger Lambelin". That one will never grow in this girl's garden! This leads me to another thought: Kordes. What were they doing during WWII? Breeding roses, apparently, from what I can find out. I've been unable to learn if there were ever any roses named for (ugh) prominent Nazis. What if a gardener found out his/her "Magnificent Miranda" (I'm making that one up) had at one time been called "Joseph Goering"? I'm not trying to put Kordes on the hook for the crimes of a nation ... just thinking, well, human nature is an opportunistic thing. How could you sell roses in Nazi Germany without, at least in public, getting a bit that way yourself? Kordes experts, please weigh in. Thanks, and in the meantime what about "Cardinal de Richelieu"? Not the nicest person at the French court, as I understand it. |
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| there was a long thread last year re. bizarre or inappropriate rose names & their history--I'll try to find it. IIRC, there was indeed a Joseph Stalin. Also explained that the odd, "commercial" names--Weight Watchers Success, Fisherman's Friend, Benson & Hedges--are just that--names paid for by the various sponsors. Also interesting remarks re. the commercial genius of some rose breeders--Baltimore Belle was embraced by the temperance movement, there was considerable pressure for homeowners to plant one in the front yard to prove their support. Neat thread--I'll try to find it. |
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| Thanks, bluegirl! I did run a search on gardenweb for "bad rose names" but it didn't come up. Benson & Hedges is particularly gruesome. Why not call it Cancer & Emphysema? The Joseph Stalin rose -- was it a moss rose? with a mustache?? LOL. Sylvia |
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| Sort of on the "Baltimore Belle" continuum, I almost planted "Sunshine Daydream" because the name comes from a Grateful Dead lyric and I am an old Deadhead -- but then I realized I have yellow grandifloras aplenty already. There's no end to this. How about roses of the Civil War? There must have been some. Anyone know? Spring-fevered, Sylvia |
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| Well, heck--I can't find the exact thread I was thinking of, but did find these: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/roses/msg101914584045.html |
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| This thread cracks me up. There are definitely some weird rose names out there! |
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- Posted by desertgarden561 9a/SZ11 -Las Vegas,N (My Page) on Wed, Mar 5, 14 at 19:58
| In response to the names - What were they thinking????? Some of the names are kind of mild. For example, Sexy Rexxy, I find to be kind of humorous and can actually take it in a lighthearted way. Some are offensive and many are un-creative or just silly! Lynn |
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| Black Boy was an earlier creation from a different Australian breeder. I do remember reading some years ago, in an older rose book that one of the two "boy" names was not meant disparagingly as the term was the commonly used Australian name to refer to the Aboriginal people. We weren't much better in some of our choices. See below link. You have to remember, we have the advantage of viewing snippets of history through 21st Century Eyes. Not to excuse questionable choices or acts, but at one time, none of these were held as socially unacceptable. From what I've read, Sexy Rexy was chosen to honor one of McGredy's friends whose nickname was Sexy Rexy. How about Crazy Dottie? That seems rude and disparaging, until you learn "Dottie" suggested the name as that was her nickname. What about Marie Antoinette? I think it would be a difficult argument to make that she was a worthy candidate for whom to name a rose. Yes, I have purchased and grown roses specifically due to their names. Amelia Earhart, Mme. Marie Curie, Marian Anderson, Hi, Neighbor (planted at the entrance to an old garden as the official "welcome"), and quite a few which were named for breeders' loved ones, to name just a few, as you don't name garbage for your wife, mother, sister, etc. if you know what's good for you! Though Joe Winchell certainly did when he named Agnes Winchell. That lovely lady definitely deserved a MUCH better rose than he gave her. Kim |
Here is a link that might be useful: Other name found questionable to future eyes
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| The one that cracks me up the most is GOLDEN SHOWERS. |
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| Thanks everyone! Bluegirl, I read all the old posts: thank you for posting them. I have Marie Van Houtte and recently learned there is a Louis Van Houtte (red). I'd like to track that one down. s |
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- Posted by ArbutusOmnedo (My Page) on Thu, Mar 6, 14 at 0:00
| Aspirin Rose seems like a very unfortunately named rose. Quite pretty, but a headache of a name. Besides historically cringe-worthy names like the ones linked above, there are some terribly cheesy or infantile sounding names of modern roses. Ch-Ching and Golden Showers indeed, Big Momma, Deelish, Warm and Fuzzy, Tiddlywinks, and a lot of minis all leave something to be desired. Roses named after notable figures or pieces of art are very hit or miss. If I don't like the politician/musician/artist/author/song/book/et cet. I will be very hard pressed to like their/its rose. Jay |
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| My largest and prettiest HT bloom "Buxom Beauty". Hate the name, love the rose. |
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| Sometimes the renames seem poorer to me--Maria Callas strikes me as a better name for the voluptuous red rose than Miss All American Beauty. |
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- Posted by redwolfdoc 5b (My Page) on Thu, Mar 6, 14 at 17:34
| I've always thought "Sneezy" is an unfortunate name for any flower. A sidebar in a book on roses I received for Christmas talks about a few - there was a zodiac series and one poor rose was named "Cancer." Apparently changing it to "The Crab" didn't significantly help sales. Doesn't come up on HMF though. The same book explains that the name Crocus Rose is actually named for a charity: Colorectal Cancer Understanding and Screening. Ha! Karen |
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| I don't like Ch-Ching, Benson and Hedges, or Weight Watcher's Success. I am not sure what is wrong with Fisherman's Friend. It must be a product. Maybe a cough drop. That one doesn't bother me. I don't mind Buxom Beauty at all..it is a nice old fashioned term and says to me that the rose is voluptuous and big. So many rose names are whimsical or fanciful, that if you know many roses your head is full of funny names many people's brains are not infiltrated with. |
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- Posted by NewGirlinNorCal 9b (My Page) on Thu, Mar 6, 14 at 22:25
| I don't like the name "Sexy Rexy" because I think it's too harsh a name for such a lovely rose. There's something about sharp consonants that just doesn't go. I don't think it's inappropriate though, not compared to good ole' "Cuisse de Nymphe Emue" which is most commonly translated to "Thigh of an Aroused Nymph" which wins the award I think for "named by someone who clearly needed to get out more." |
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| There are some uninspired names from the new J&P (whomever J&P is these days) introductions. 'Summer Surprise' and 'Dependable Beauty' are yawners. It gets worse. Then we have 'Friends Embrace' and 'Crush on You'! Do you really want to tell the person who has had a few too many at the pool party that your lovely rose is named 'Crush on You'? I am afraid I am not able to give Alistair Clark the benefit of the doubt for 'Black Boy'? Would Mr. Clark himself have been commonly called a white boy? Another Australian breeder used BB to produce 'Lubra', which name I happen to know from reading the excellent mysteries of Arthur Upton, is or was a colloquial term for indigenous women. If I am going to offend the neighbors anyway, let it be with the highfalutin French names, Countess this and Prince that, which neither they nor I can pronounce. |
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