3 of my Jude the Obscure's had gall. I was advised to destroy them and not to use the soil for another rose for 2 years, which I haven't. Now, I have other perennials in that spot.

I'm not an expert, but at the time, this was what I was told to do, plus as a result of my own research. I'd take lots of pictures right now to remember that beauty.

Ronda, that is so sad.
Hard as it is -- I think I would follow the advice.
Gardening takes the long view. You won't have a rose there for a couple of years, but you can plant other things.

And -- now this is hard -- I would feel once-burned-twice-shy, and not re-plant The Fairy. Why? Because I am told that gall is a big problem with Lady Carolina, which is a sport of The Fairy. I have not (yet) seen gall on my own Lady Carolina,

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but if I DO, I am going to be ruthless about it, and clean that particular house.

Consider that you have 2 years or so to decide on a different tenant for that spot.

Jeri

I wouldn't remove it unless or until it really looks bad.

Rose gall is a bad disease and you should remove it after taking pictures. Plant something else there and repair you soil in the meantime. You can have another beautiful rose there another time. Sometimes we feel these are opportunities lost but this might ben an opportunity to get something you will end up liking twice as much. I understand. I had to remove approximately 40-50 roses with rose rosette disease. It broke my heart, but that's part of gardening. We lose some plants, but gardening is still a big win.

One to three years ago my somewhat cheap neighbor to the south got a rather large flowering crabapple tree for free. When I went over and looked at it I discovered it had huge crown galls. I pointed them out and told her what they were, what potential they represented.

The tree is still there, not far from most of my roses. If I start getting galls on my place some noise will be heard. The bacteria infests the soil and can spoil a variety of plants. It's nothing to mess with.

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Jeri, thanks for the info on Lady Carolina...I had never heard that and I would not want to lose an established rose tree again. I doubt I will plant the Fairy there again with this new information...that and the fact that I have been looking for The Fairy on a standard for 3 years with no luck.

The gall was BAD. None at the roots but huge mass at the graft point and small galls like acorns everywhere. I dug her and got rid of her. I think the late freeze shattered her and the bacteria climbed in every potential space.

Its amazing how attached we can become to roses. . .especially those not easily replaced.

Ronda

Ronda, what if and when you find a new tree rose, you keep it in a large pot. You can bury it but dig the pot out before cold weather and keep it dormant in low light but with monthly watering until true spring has arrived.

Since the gall was not on the roots, only at the top graft point and on stems....

Could I plant another standard there? I read that there are 2 different bacteria...one for stem gall and one for root gall. Does this mean I could try another standard if I keep the branches and stems well away from the soil???

Tks

Ronda

Ronda, I know absolutely nothing about roses. However, I had to research about rose gall when I saw your post because I just acquired several plants and wanted to know what I might experience with them.

Here's a link with some info.

zee

Here is a link that might be useful: rose gall article

Ronda, it is my understanding that the bacterium is present throughout most of the plant. I wouldn't want to take a chance with it, myself.
FWIW, I have had 4 galled plants here in 20 years. Fortunately for me, all four were in containers, which made it fairly easy to eliminate them with no unpleasant legacy remaining.
If it were my plant, I'd get rid of it soonest.

Jeri

I did dig it up. Its gone.

I was just wondering if I should wait the 2 years...or if I have more options with another standard since this was not root gall specifically. The gall was limited to the graft (top of standard) and stems of the rose that came off the graft.

If we are dealing with 2 different bacteria...then the question is...how does the bacteria get to the stems? Would they have to be in contact with the soil? Would another standard do ok there as long as the stems were kept well off the soil?

Just thinking of what I can do...the spot looks so bare and lonely I cant even look out there.

No. I believe agrobacterium tumefaciens is agrobacterium tumefaciens, no matter where on the plant it entered. If you plant any rose in that soil, I would caution you to plant something you consider a "throwaway."
At the very least look into galltrol and gallex, but if I were you, I would plant there only in a large container.

That spot IS very prominent. Consider putting a brugmansia or something like that there, which will grow quickly and flower profusely.

Jeri

Right now, you might want to plant massed species Marigolds in that spot, They're supposed to suppress the nematode populations that seem to be related to the ingress of A. tumefaciens into woody plants. Calendula is another nematode supressant.
Jeri, I'm not sure about Carolina Lady. I've also read that it's very close to The Fairy, but I just don't see it being that close. LC seems to bloom a lot earlier and longer. I've got two huge ones (LC) on the fence line and so far haven't seen any gall problems with either.
I think that there may be a systemic problem with a lot of The Fairys but the massed ones I had in New Orleans could live and bloom with it; now they've been replaced with a palm tree and azaleas.

Once upon a time, rootstocks were chosen for their resistance to crown gall.

I have some other woody shrubs in that area. I will plant the marigolds as a preventative measure. Hopefully this will protect them in some way.

I have already decided to move all the daylilies from that area.

Would a peroxide solution kill the bacteria? I know that I use it with seedlings and they actually respond favorably to it. I know I would be killing some good bacteria in the process....but I wonder if I shouldnt soak the area down in an attempt to kill the gall bacteria that may be sitting in and on the soil where this rose was.

You thoughts???

Ronda

I have had some gall, and agree with Jeri, but have a different slant. A rose is not that expensive. It is my yard, and I can take chances, if I know there may be consequences.

As I understand it, the gall bacteria is always in the soil, and enters the rose when the bacteria finds an injury. We dug out all the soil, and threw it away, replaced it, and planted. We lost Mrs. B.R. Cant, and wanted her in that spot. I didn't want to wait, and so far have had some success.

If I had a special location like you do for that tree, I would go ahead and plant another. I would take out soil, and I would carefully monitor anyone with a weed eater or other tool that could injure the rose.

Sammy

Sammy's advice looks good to me. Seems likely that the rose tree came already infected with the gall. I've heard of people getting infected roses straight from the nursery, and the fact that it's at the top of the rose sure makes me wonder. It could have seemed healthy at first, even if infected.

It takes a while for a crown gall infected rose to decline. We had an infected Excellenz von Shubert in the Sacramento cemetery that looked wonderfully vigorous and healthy, despite the galls, for several years. Then, it went rapidly downhill.

We are finding crown gall where weedeaters have been used to trim away grass.
Anita