Do you throw them out when they get root/crown gall?

8 years ago

This spring I was moving some roses to reduce irrigation zones because of the drought, but most of them had root or crown gall, so I just tossed them. Nothing was rare or irreplaceable. Just moved another, that one was also infected. Hurt to toss them, but...did cut my water use by a lot.

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stillanntn6b

8 years ago

Yes. Simple answer for my garden. When I see crown gall the rose is usually doing poorly and I go in and try to see why. I have soil that had Tobacco growing on it for about a century, more or less, and tobacco is a great host for A. tumifaciens (however it's spelled) and I expect that in that area, my soil is badly infected. I still grow roses there, but try to be careful not to cut into the roots.

That said, I have seen pictures of a rose garden in Southern Alabama and I've talked with the owner (who BTW believes that RMV doesn't slow down roses at all. ) He said, with a straight face that he thinks all roses have crown gall and he just uses more fertilizer and water. Pictures of the crowns of his roses show really ugly massive crown galls. And those roses have massive canes and look good with lots of blooms. ( Yes, I do know that most of us photograph our rose bushes when they are at their best, but he does have a best to photograph.) He lives with them and is satisfied with the roses he grows. Most of his roses are modern show varieties, if that matters re crown gall?

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Comments (8)

jerijen
8 years ago
Well, I don't. But if I was digging them up, yes, I would.

And I've had some that were in pots, never were in the ground, and clearly arrived infected. And THOSE I just dumped in the trash can, pot and all.
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23 thanked jerijen
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Curdle, I hope you discarded all the soil in the PJPII pot in a secure waste bag, then removed off your property. Then, a thorough disinfection of the pot in which it grew, as well as all the tools that came in contact with the bush or its pot's soil should be done. The only case of root gall that I am aware I have had so far was 4 years ago on an own root Belinda's Dream, purchased online as a gallon pot from a well known mail order nursery, stateside. It had been growing in the ground in my rose bed for about 3 years when I discovered its root gall as I was moving it to a different spot. There was only one root gall on the bush. It was about 8" out from the crown attached to a very thin root. It was the size of a golf ball, very round and rough, heavy for its size, and as hard as a rock. What surprised me the most was that the Belinda's Dream it grew on was a vigorous bush and showed no above ground signs of the gall on its root. I immediately discarded the bush in the trash can, but I did not disinfect the tools used or remove the soil in the area where it grew. To this date no rose growing in or near the spot in the bed where the infected Belinda's Dream grew has shown anything but good vigor. Does this mean the root gall bacteria has not infected any other roses? I cannot say for sure, who could? There are no above ground signs of anything but strong growth. Does this mean the root gall bacterial has died out? How can I tell. Do all/some of my roses have root gall and show no symptoms? Maybe. These are all questions that linger in my mind. I think my mind would be more at ease if I had removed the soil in the area in which the infected rose grew, and also disinfected the tools used. That is why I have advised you to take all the precautions I did not take. I have no excuse for being careless in my case, and am fortunate my roses are all growing well in spite of me. A word about Pope John Paul II... There have been so many mixed reports on the vigor of PJPII that I would not necesarily lay the blame for its poor performance for you on the root gall it had. Just a thought, in light of the vigor my Belinda's Dream showed in spite of its root gall. Maybe its decline was yet to manifest itself. I may have just moved it before the visual effects of the infestation took place. No way of knowing for sure. Maybe root gall is a benign infestation, unlike crown gall.
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monarda_gw
8 years ago
Uh, oh. What about flowering tobacco?
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23 thanked monarda_gw
catspa_NoCA_Z9_Sunset14
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I grow Nicotiana, flowering tobacco, of many varieties all over the place here and have never seen galls on any. (By the way, if you teach plant biology and want a surefire, fast-acting pollen for pollen-germination exercises, Nicotiana never fails.) The bacteria is around, however, and I have had maybe three roses infected over 13 years here, two of which I discarded.

The big (and I mean "big" in every sense of the word) is my 'Mrs. B.R. Cant', which started showing symptoms of crown gall (or something very like it!) about 8 years ago or so -- a big, crusty swelling at the base and then various "tumors" along the canes. My heart sank. I kept meaning to take her out, but delayed and delayed because she occupies a large amount of real estate (being 8' tall and more than 14' wide now) in a prominent position on a hillside, which I would then have to re-do (sigh), plus I absolutely love her. And, anyway, she has never seemed to suffer any decline in growth, bloom, or overall appearance during all this time (which I keep waiting for, but it hasn't happened yet), so there she stays, the exception to the "rule".
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23 thanked catspa_NoCA_Z9_Sunset14
michaelg
8 years ago
They say the gall bacterium is widely distributed in soils.

I've only had a few cases, but I pitch the ones with gall on the roots or crown, and save the ones with aerial gall on the canes. Treat pruning cuts and tools with a bactericide such as copper. Avoid cultivating in the area because roots that are cut could become infected.
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23 thanked michaelg
catspa_NoCA_Z9_Sunset14
8 years ago
Yes, Michael, I am really thorough about disinfecting the tools I've used on my infected 'Mrs. B.R. Cant'. Everything that touches her gets carefully sanitized.
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23 thanked catspa_NoCA_Z9_Sunset14
kittymoonbeam
8 years ago
I did try to save some by surgery, soaking in a bleach solution and then repotting in potting mix. Eventually, the galls returned. Watching them decline in the ground was not something I wanted to do. I have replaced soil in three locations and replanted with a potted rose with unbroken roots and no galls have bothered them yet that I can tell. I finally lost my old 1982 Half Time from Weeks to galls. That was a weak grower but had the most beautiful colors. Also my 4 year old Helen T. that Kim calls hell 'n trouble. That rose was no trouble at all for me in a pot but got galls in the ground. The next one will stay in a pot! Another 4 years to grow one to a good size. Lemon Spice is staying potted. Weaker growing roses might be more at risk for galls. Grrrrrrrrr I hate galls. You wonder what your doing wrong until you see the reason why as you're digging it up.
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23 thanked kittymoonbeam
seil zone 6b MI
8 years ago
I had a gall once on a cane of Golden Celebration and I just cut off that section of the plant and it did survive fine. I haven't seen any gall on it since. But I would think if it's in the crown and roots the whole plant is probably infected. I think if it were me I'd toss it.
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23 thanked seil zone 6b MI

Do you throw them out when they get root/crown gall?

stillanntn6b

Comments (8)

jerijen

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