Using some sort of sealant on pruning cuts used to be the rule, but I don't think anyone does that at all anymore. I have had over 100 roses for 28 years, and I have never done that, and the roses are fine.

Jackie

When I grew a lot of Hybrid Teas, I used glue every spring on canes that I had pruned.

If I didn't cane borers would get in and destroy the growth on those established canes. Every year. (Insert California envy here.)

For me, this isn't a California thing: Bald Villegas said he didn't do it because his cane borers only went down half an inch. My cane borers could go down six to eight inches, sometimes all the way to the graft area.

The longer I grew roses, the more I was able to work out timing of problems. If I pruned in December, the pith had hardened by the time the borers eggs were deposited, so the cane didn't need protection.

The other thing was about choice of glue. White school type glue washes off; it is, after all, for school children, and getting it to both glue and wash out of their clothes is it's reason for existing. I found that "wood glue" worked to seal canes, and would last at least three years, by which time the pith was hard and often decreased in volumn.

To use glue: if you don't are your rose canes damaged? That is the question.

It is difficult to understand and make yourself understood using the Google translator !! I'll try again.

As Jacqueline says, to seal each and every one of the cuts that we make in the pruning of more than 100 roses is a work that, for me, is also impossible to carry out.

I do not want to imagine having to put a droplet of white glue on each branch or stem !! Ufffff impossible !!

In my garden there is no problem at the moment with borers. My question was rather in the sense of using this glue as a sealant.

As I said in the beginning of this post, here in Spain is not known that use. That's why I was surprised that they used this material as a sealant. When it is the first time you hear a thing you wonder if it is something that a particular gardener does or if in other countries it is generally used by many gardeners.

I asked if you had used the glue as a sealer for the cuts and what result you had given them.

To make a test yesterday I put a drop of glue on a freshly cut stem. I checked that it took quite a while to dry and wondered if during the minutes it was dry at all, I might be able to penetrate into the spinal cord of the stem. Perhaps this penetration into the inside of the stem could damage it in some way? Could it prevent the buds on the stem, close to and below the cut, from developing?

If you have used it and do not cause damage to the branches of the roses, if you ever had problems with the borers use the glue. Usually comes in a little jar with a cannula (I do not know how Google translate this word) that facilitates much application.

It would be much more practical than putting scar paste with a brush as is usually done here in Spain. This with trees on thick branches. In general gardeners do not seal cuts.

I can not make myself understood. It is a problem not to speak English I use the translator and I probably end up writing in English something different from what I want to say in Spanish.

My query was not in the sense of what treatments I should apply to my roses versus pathogens.

Simply using the white glue as a healing paste on the cuts of the roses when pruning, I found it surprising because there is no known here in Spain that use of white glue.

I asked if you use the white glue as a cicatrizant and if the results are good. Only that.

Thank you very much for the information provided by Sttillanntn. Although it is not what I ask now, it will help me if I ever have these problems with my roses.

And what do you think a cicratizant is???? A way to prevent pathogen entry. It isn't just for the sake of creating a scab or crust in plants or people.

only obsessed or over enthusiastic gardeners engage in this practice. Average American gardener does not, for any reason.

as stillanntn6b stated, pruner sanitation is much more important. Sealing for sealing's sake is not.

I only seal for borers.

Kentucky, are you sealing with white glue?

I seal for borers as well using wood glue. The cane borers here are bad little critters!

The only reason I would seal the ends of the canes would be for borers, they are very bothersome in my area. & I only do this on the biggest, most "valuable" canes, mostly because I don't have the patience to do it for every single cut. And I use "wood glue" because it will be waterproof. I tried it with white school glue and it washed off in the rain. If I didn't have borers in my area I would not bother with the glue.

I have experienced no toxic or growth inhibiting effects with using cane sealants. Buds just below a sealed cut grow with no visible negative effects.

I also do not think you need to seal cut ends to inhibit pathogen infiltration, only to prevent cane borer damage, which you may or may not have.

Here is what to do regarding cane borer if you should encounter it:

If you have no evidence of borer damage on old cuts from last year and before that, then sealing the cut ends is not necessary. It is very easy to see borer damage upon inspection.

If you see evidence of previous borer damage on last year's and older cut ends, observing a clearly visible hole in a cut end, then look at the growth that has been made on that stem. If the growth appears to have been satisfactory, then you can be relatively certain the same satisfactory growth will take place again on this year's new growth wherever a borer attacks this year's cut ends. Do nothing since nothing really has to be done.

Borer damage can kill canes, and if the borer's tunnel goes all the way down to the the rose's crown the entire rose's health/life can be severely compromised. Different insects bore canes: bees, wasps, beetles, and moths. Each insect will have a different hole/tunnel length. Some will bore down to 30 cm! All the growth made on the cane to the end of a tunnel is killed.

Not all parts of the USA have borer problems. I do in my temperate, humid Pennsylvania garden. Rose gardeners in dryer, hotter climates seem to have little or no borer problems. In Spain, I suspect borers can be severe in some localities, and almost nonexistent in others.

If you have borers doing considerable damage sealing the canes is a must. Here in Pennsylvania only a cane whose diameter is 8 mm or greater needs to be sealed. Thinner canes here are generally not attacked by borers, and do not need to be sealed.

White glue is ineffective for me in my garden. Borers will tunnel right through it, or it will wear/wash off, leaving the cane vulnerable. Also, when it dries it turns clear, and it s hard to tell if you have treated that cane or missed it.

Canes that are missed accidentally, which is very easy to do, are sure to be found by a borer.

Tree wound sealant is what to use. It is essentially black tar. A dab on each cut end takes no time to do at all. Do all your pruning first, then put down your pruning tools and seal all the necessary canes. You will be done in no time and be glad you did the job.

If you need to seal your canes, why not experiment with different sealants. One day soon, I intend to try artist's acrylic paint in a tube. It may stick well, make a good, permanent seal, and if I use a strange color like bright red, it will be easy to see if I missed any canes. Maybe artist's oil paint in tubes may be better. The oil may give better adhesion and the slow drying time may be a plus.

The glue does is not used to prevent pathogens and does not enter the rose tissue. In the US we have insects that lay their eggs on plant stems with pithy tissue. One plant that they like are roses. They like to take the easy way in and will lay eggs on the ends of cut canes. Sealing the canes helps to prevent entry of this cane borer.

I have used both school glue and later, wood glue over a period of 20 to 30 years and they did not damage the cane. I did not see any dieback on the cut cane. New leaflets appeared normal and their growth was not inhibited.

I followed this practice for decades (that is 20 to 30 years or more). Then I decided to stop and I no longer seal pruning cuts.

I did not stop using glue as a sealant because glue caused problems. I stopped using glue because It did not seem necessary or important.

The US is such a vast country that practices vary with different regions and climates. If I moved to an area where borers were a problem, I would certainly use wood glue again. I had no problems because of it.

I am so glad you are on this forum talking to us. I garden in a warm climate here much more similar to Spain than to northern Europe. It's good to know what your concerns are there.

Hope this helps. I have been growing roses for over 50 years and sometimes I think I have tried everything. Then I read about something here I have not tried!

Sorry for such a lengthy reply, that is me taking too many words to explain. Just want to help.

I use exterior wood glue.

At last I have become clear what I asked !!

Many thanks.

I only wanted to know if it was customary to use the tail to seal the cuts.

My question was not about the most appropriate ways of preventing or preventing borer work.

Now I see that the use of this white glue is nothing new to you. They use it or it is not another question. When I read it I thought it might be an individual practice of that gardener but I see that not, that more than one of you uses it, has used it or at least knows that others use it.

Many thanks to all for your answers. Happy weekend friends!!

Maria.

Lost too many roses do to borers. I glue EVERYTHING now.

I must have some really weird borers because I have used exterior wood glue with limited success. What I saw happening was on some of the treated canes the borers would bore into the side of the cane below where the glue was. I may have to use the black sealant instead, if that will help. I have found ant colonies inside the borer holes. What I do as an alternative is to leave some dead wood on the cane after pruning if I can. That dead wood is harder for the borers to get into. It works at least a bit better than just wood glue. I also have seen borer damage on tree and intersectional peonies as well. So, if you have any tree or intersectional peonies, please keep an eye on them.

bustopher,

I wonder if that's one of the reasons that Peonies aren't all that successful in my part of the world. With our temperatures, they should do really well.

Thanks for mentioning the peonies; something else to watch for when I clean up the flower beds.

I use wood glue on large cuts as a protectant. It seems to make sense so I do it.

I try to seal off major cuts. I've used glue,nail polish, wax...I don't know whether or not it's necessary,but I figure it can't hurt.I also try to mainly prune when the moon is waning. Now, I know, lots of you out there are going to laugh at me, but traditional Italian agricultural practices definitely DO take into account the phases of the moon,and, once again, I figure it can't hurt. Supposedly a plant "bleeds" less when the moon is waning. I admit I experimented once, cutting into an orniello tree whilst the moon was waxing; sap flowed out in abundance. I then cut into another orniello once the moon had changed and, yep, it hardly "bled" at all...what can I say?

Yikes another thing to worry about? I hope I won't get this problem in my area. Japanese Beetles is enough for me. But thanks for the insight as I didn't realize that borers are a problem for some rose growers.

Well, isn't that an interesting tidbit, Bart? It makes sense - think about ocean tides. From Wikipedia:

"The cycle of tides is dependent on the phase of the moon, such that the highest tides spring tides occur near full moon and new moon."

My borers love all pithy plants. They seem to enjoy phlox paniculata as much as roses. I learned to cut the phlox back earlier in fall before they reach the crown. Once they reach the crown it's to hard to find them without killing the plant. Have found them in hydrangea rudbeckia and many others. They are all the same type a white soft worm like creature that squish easily.