Thanks for sharing, Sheila! That gives me hope. I haven’t been overly impressed with GC’s growth habit and health but it has only been in my garden 2 years and I do love those blooms. Maybe I’ll try removing the affected portion and just see how it goes.

Here is the AG today, Dave.

In Alice's case, Dave, a year ago the gall did not want to come off. I didn't want to leave a raw wound in the winter by cutting it off then. It looked so horrible I didn't even know where to cut. By Spring, the whole gall thing looked browner and dried up and that was when it effectively just peeled/crumbled off. I never actually cut it. Good luck.

That's interesting, Sheila. I have been throwing out potted plants that have any gall. From what I heard, it is caused by a bacteria and it gets in all the parts of the plant, so any cuttings from it would also be affected. I'm not saying I believe that but I don't disbelieve it either. I might call my agriculture extension agent or go to a plant pathology clinic they have around here once a year. My husband just bought a good microscope. I don't know if it's good enough to see bacteria, but if it is maybe I could look at some cane tissue and see if the bacteria is present.

There is a gall treatment or preventative, I think called Galltrol. I haven't tried it.

It's a bacterium that comes out of the soil - particularly it seems fine-textured clay-like ones. So the soil of locations where galled plants are present will be infested. If I had one I would discard it and not re-plant in the same spot. It is also desirable to not move soil from the spot where the infested plant was around. Likely means of dispersal will include soles of footwear and blades of digging tools.

I wonder if my plant fought the bacteria off itself?

Good question, Sheila.

If I do end up having to remove this rose and remove/replace some of the surrounding soil, I wonder if growing an own root, nursery grown plant would reduce the risk of this reappearing (no bareroot or grafted plant).

Mine is an own root rose I got as a band in 2015 I think. I have not seen this before here. I understand some rose purveyors have sent infected plants and other people have the bacteria in their soil. I do hear you have to replace the soil where an infected plant has grown if you take it out. In theory, an own root potted plant might have less scrapes and wounds that the bacterium can enter. Some grafted and bare root do arrive pretty beat up. I remember reading on the forum that some people have gall on a rose that looks fine otherwise and if it was still attractive they just leave it. I have never read of it spreading all over from one infected plant. I have read of some commercial growers having their fields having a widespread infection with contaminated soil, sadly.

I bought an own root plant that didn't grow. I unpotted it and found gall on the roots, so I threw it out. I've received gall ridden roots from two rose nurseries. Gall is not always on the crown. It's one more thing to have to worry about. It really is a good idea to sterilize pruners often. Here's a good article about it: They compare gall to cancer and it does look freaky and wicked, like a cancer. It's due to the presence of too much growth hormone which is produced in response to the bacteria. It sounds like the bacteria can sense when there's a cut on a plant and they move to invade the cut. RRD also reminds me of cancer.

https://arborgate.com/blog/identifying-crown-gall-disease/