I don't, but a friend does. Elmer's white glue (or anything similar) is what she uses. She just dabs it on right out of the bottle after making the cuts.

It is done to seal the canes to prevent cane borers (an insect) from getting inside of the canes. I don't have a borer problem (or it is rare when I do), that's why I don't seal. My friend had problems.

Ditto diane nj - I don't.

I've had borers, so I seal with nail polish. I use pinkÂnot clearÂso I can see which ones I've done. The instructions I read said to seal any cane pencil sized or larger. I probably err a bit on the side of caution.

I've never read or heard about sealing stems when deadheading. Do some people actually do that? I can't think of a more labor-intensive or brain-numbing job for anyone who has very many roses.

When is comes to sealing, try to differentiate between stems and canes. I seal newly cut canes, but allow the slender stems to take care of themselves.

I only seal the large canes and pretty much only do that in the spring when I prune. I have a borer problem here if I don't seal, but the smaller canes are too small and weak for the borers so I don't bother with those. I use plain old white glue and it works fine.

I only seal the larger older canes... I use exterior wood glue in the color of brown, it blends right in...

Otherwise, here the wasps use the canes to hatch their babies... The wasps nest in the rose canes, excavating the pith of pruned canes. They cause little damage because they restrict tunneling to the pith and rarely girdle cambium, but I hate the thought of future wasps living in my roses.

I didn't seal this year.

:o)

I should add that I can't imagine sealing when deadheading.

Should one seal the canes on a newly purchased rose...soon as it's planted? Thanks!!

If the canes are freshly pruned on the newly planted rose go ahead and seal them... If they have hardened off (are brown) no need to seal them.

I seal with cheap nail polish. During pruning season I might take wood glue and a child's paint brush around. We've got cane borers to drill the holes and leaf cutter bees who use the holes for laying their egg cells. If there's any room left, we've got plenty of other diseases that like to use the stems to leave their spores in.

We also have a problem some other areas don't. Heat. If roses are pruned on a warm day they can lose sap from those cut ends. Sealing them helps to hold moisture. Since glue doesn't dry right away, I use the nail polish. Yeah, it's a major thorn in one's side but once you've got cane borers they're with you forever.