I hate it when that happens, Carol. I would have to see your actual plant to be accurate, but I have had Mrs. B.R. Cant really harmed by wind out here, and I just took the cane off to the crown. It killed me at the time, but the bush recovered. I have had differing experiences with different teas and their willingness (or lack thereof) of throwing out new basal growth. For me, the following seem to put out basals regularly: Souvenir de Pierre Notting; M. Tillier; Baronne Henriette de Snoy; White Maman Cochet; Etoile de Lyon. These put out basals less often but regularly here: Maman Cochet; Niles Cochet; Mme. Antoine Mari. The rest of the teas here are either too young or have are impossible to judge yet. However, I will say that of the ones I have had since November of '05 or before, I have never had a significant new basal break from Lady Hillingdon; Mme. Berkeley and Mme. Lombard or William R. Smith. Again, this might just be my plants or this climate, their location or the amount of care I am giving.

Good luck with your garden.

Carol,
I've let broken canes be on my big teas. Many times. Many, many times. (someone rides a lawnmower rather recklessly close and sometimes the canes don't give.) The canes on Teas can live with breaks. They can even thrive.
I know this goes against HT learned rose care (one small bad speck can kill a cane). Teas are stronger and can live with breaks, missing cambium and they keep going. And as they keep going, they will put out replacements eventually. But they may not be in a rush. That's ok, too.
With drought and other problems, I'm thankful for roses that will bloom beyond breaks, cankers, rabbit incursions.

Remember where a new cane comes out on a tea, out on a cane. Often it's the underside of a big fanned out cane. Where that one comes out, there are more dormant bud eyes, ready to break. Not all of them will break, but they will break when needed. But when we cut canes way back, then the rose has to restart from scratch.

My $0.02.

Ann

I wonder if glue might seal the opening from invaders and fungus??? It won't mend the cane....but maybe act as some sort of protection....kinda like when we seal our canes after pruning??

Just a thought.

Ronda

I read what Ann has to say and I repent in dust and ashes. Her advice is much wiser, especially given the similarities of your climates. Also General Gallieni is one of those more twiggy ones, and cutting out something at the base might just hurt it a lot.

Take care. Hope the General passes through this without blinking.

Jerome,
Not to worry. It's just that in our part of the world, summer droughts happen, and the heat that causes rose growth to slow down can start in May and last through August. I see growth in spring and fall, but not the midsummer growth that lots of other (kinder climate) parts of the world have.
Do we seal the damaged part?
I haven't. But I've been tempted. (I've had lots of damage to watch (BIG lawnmower). When a break has exposed a lower surface, I have rarely had some stem gall happen. It doesn't kill (or gird the way that crown gall does), but given what I've seen (and the propensity of that part of my garden to crown gall), I would first spray the break with the Lysol that kills bacteria and viruses. Then wood glue, after the Lysol dried. I might even do a dusting with Mycorrhizal Fungi (because I have them.) before glueing. The duct tape is too strong and I would expect that a broken cane can last three or four more years and tight duct tape can gird.

We aren't the only ones who through time have noticed that young tea roses have a different growth style than older teas. But I'm still looking for a discussion based on the wisdom of two centuries (as well as a name for the younger plants to distinguish them from the older, woodier plants.)

Jerome, I appreciate your personal experience very much! My first instinct was to duct tape it...then I thought "I will have to cut this out because of disease issues". I have had canes break before but never quite like this so it wasn't clear to me how I should handle it. No dust or ashes, please :-). It is worth watching for a while since such a large part of the bush would have to be removed with that one cane.

Rhonda, I had some canes that burst on a rose after that late freeze last spring and it is a rose that is impossible to replace so I glued the very narrow splits and the rose is still alive. Jean told me to try that and it has worked so far but the rose is still very iffy. This is more of a wide gaping wound so I don't know if the glue would work or not.

Carol

Sorry Ann, we cross posted. So, should I seal it or just leave it? It's probably half an inch wide and three inches long. I so appreciate the help! I do love this rose.

Carol

Can you sort-of paint the glue on?

I would think anything that makes it harder for bugs or fungus to enter would be a plus. I don't mean that the glue would reattach the area....more that it would act like a sealer to the wood of the rose (similar to why we seal our hardwood floors).

I have used a lot of glue in my time with roses....and I have used them on split canes. I don't suspect that I have ever had a broken cane as large as the one you have though.

My instinct tells me that some protection is better than none...whatever you decide...I will keep my fingers crossed for you!!

Best Wishes,

Ronda

Rhonda, that does makes sense. The wonders of glue in a rose garden... :-) I'll try painting the glue on the cane. Thank you!

Carol