This is just my opinion but if it were mine I would take the bush out. Move a perennial in that spot then plant a new rose bush. That said it is gall and you could try cutting that whole side off It looks as thou the whole bush suffered a fracture many years ago. Since I don't know the variety it's difficult to say much more.

WOW! I didn't even know the post went through! I got an error message and was just preparing another post when I got your reply, Patty W.

And I was afraid that was what was going to be suggested. I had been doing some reading in the past couple weeks and did see that any crown gall infected plants should be removed, as well as the dirt around the bush where the bacteria would be.

I also found some posts or info about people who cut out the gall if it were up on a cane like this and disinfect with some type of concoction. I have the info bookmarked somewhere, but would have to find it.

Is there any actual difference between Crown Gall and a Gall on a cane such as this? I assume not, but after some initial reading I am not quite sure.

Everyone says this, but I would hate to lose her. I was very taken by her and she threw out some beautiful ( and many) blooms. I could look out down from the second floor and see many, many blooms facing me, so, so close! And, she is still blooming, slower since it's been so hot, but putting out new growth and buds currently.

Sadness. She was really growing on me, and was still blooming at the end of last October when we first saw the house. :-(

Personally, I'd just take the offending cane back to the graft. We see some gall in the public garden on damaged bushes. These are inevitably older bushes. Use sharp, clean shears. Make proper pruning cuts. Seal pruning cuts. Make sure any damaged canes are removed - not taped up, sealed, glued or whatever type of possible resurrection technique is employed in hopes of it growing back together. A good, healthy bush will grow more canes. A dying bush just ekes out its last gasping breath over the course of a year or two, wasting water, space and resources.

Try doing that just cut that whole cane and see what she does. That cane is very old anyway. It can take quite a while for it to send out new growth. I'm not sure what your winters are like so they may not have enough time to harden off. My guess is that if there are galls on the roots. She'll not send up good new growth.

OT: Your home and cat are lovely. Please post more photos of both. Thank you!

I thought that was a kitty in the window keeping an eye on you.

LOL!! Thank you, cecily! We are in love with our little, old "new" house!

And of course we are in love with our pussycats, who LOVE being in the new house!

That is Sazmo in the window, and yes, she was watching me take pictures. Bosco, not in that shot, loves that we have all sorts of windows to sit in and observe the gardening. I think they love finally having first floor windows to look out and observe us, and not to be stuck looking out so far away on the second floor! In fact they have both now! :-) I'll feature Bosco in a future post, just to keep everything fair and square! :-)

I've been dying to tell everyone on here about my new old house and greenhouse since I have been trying to grow roses at an apartment in the shade for ages!! But new old houses bring new old issues, and we have been so busy that it has been impossible to get on here, even to post about the poor rose with the gall!

For those of you interested, I decided to write a second post in honor of finally joining the ranks of those of you with SUN, GLORIOUS SUN!! I had forgotten what it was like to have SUN! (Hear angels playing trumpets in the background and marching bands saluting that big ball of fire I now have a piece of that lasts more than 5.5 hours in any one spot!)

Cecily, I hope you get to read it so you can read about our wonderful greenhouse! Will try to get that up today.

I am going to try and remove the offending cane down to the graft as everyone here has suggested.

Moroseaz, I will do my best to make the best cuts ever, and will seal, seal, seal! I normally use glue, but in this yard nothing was sealed until I started doing it. I read about bonsai sealer recently but i'm not sure where to get it, nor if it is necessary. In this case it might be.

I imagine time is of the essence with gall, though. Should I be doing this ASAP in the peak of the summer heat, and hope for the best? Based on what has been said, I think I should. Patty, our winters can be cold in Philly, but we do get snow cover which sometimes helps insulate. Often we get terrible ice storms, and sometimes late freezes, which is, In my opinion, what often does the most damage to my bushes.

Seil, I have high hopes that I can have the result you had with Golden Celebration. I'm wondering, if gall is from a bacteria in the soil and you grow in pots, how do you think it was infected? I know so little about gall, never had it and never gave it a though before.

I have been so diligent with disinfecting my pruners, especially this season being in a new garden with unknown roses. I'm glad most of my bushes aren't here yet, actually.

Taking this cane out is going to be a bear. It is maybe fist sized around, and the other side is where there is more sickly cane in total. it will be a major pruning job.

I had planned on this since seeing the state of her, but didn't expect gall to be what spawned it.

I may need help when the time comes. I never had a rose grow so big, other than a climber I planted at my parents, and even that is not as thick at the bottom. You know, that whole sun issue and all. And she has all kinds of damage I am just not sure about. Which is why I had planned to post so many times but never got the chance with all the moving crazy going on, even still.

Right away though, right?? Should I just prune off the super big gall cane and seal, and leave the rest till a more appropriate time of year?

I'll do my very best. Might be a good time to get a new pruning saw. Mine has seen some hard labor.

First thing I did at the new house was lose my small pruners. Replaced them. Got new blade in my felcos again this seasaon, too. Yep, new saw it is. Everyone needs new tools sometime, right? What better time than now. Maybe I should see if the local garden center has proper sealant. I use Elemer's wood glue, but never had a cane this size to seal. Just small pruning cuts as a precaution. I think I may need to do better than that now, too.

Sorry, but GC has been in the ground for about 29 years now. But it's the only rose I've ever had gall on in my yard. All the other roses around it in that bed have been fine.

I seal with nail polish. Nothing cuts through cheap nail polish. Use clear if you can't find a palatable color :). Glue melts, runs and drips so I only use it on the big cuts I take at the graft.

I think there may be two kinds of gall, but neither seems to spread to other bushes, but it does contaminate the soil, if it is one gall. One is a disease, and the other is an insect.

It isn't like other diseases that can spread, so you can do as you please. If you remove it, be sure to look at the roots. If they are diseased, you want to re-locate the soil to a place where you will not grow roses.

I am quick to discard roses. If the rose is producing well for me, I keep it. If it seems weak, I get rid of it.

In either case I think it would be a good idea to purchase another rose for a possible replacement in time. You could put it in an out of the way place, or plant it knowing you will move it later. (The first few years are slow for many roses.

Good luck.

Sammy