/rose-crown-gall-becoming-more-prevalent-in-florida/
henry_kuska
6 years ago
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Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
Crown gall on the roots of roses grown in pots
Comments (13)Rosefolly, I've experienced what you describe for the past three decades here. It's hit and miss with gall. The chances of the mulch or any other means of transmission being the culprit as as good as the plants having been infected when you obtained them. Personally, until the gall begins adversely affecting the performance of the plant, I don't worry about it. I won't propagate plants which I know to have gall as that simply "shares the wealth" with others. The pathogen is so common over such a huge section of the country, it's surprising more aren't already galled. If the rose is something I want, and it has gall, oh well. If I can live without it, I dump it. Some roses are genetically predisposed to develop it as they have little to no resistance to the bacterium where others seemingly never develop them. It's so common that the original Roses of Yesterday and Today regularly inoculated their stock with Galltrol to cut down the complaints from customers about their roses developing it. I learned that from Andy Wiley (Patricia Wiley's son) while visiting ROYAT twenty or so years ago. I'm sure other sources have resorted to treating their products with the inoculations, too. Like the probabilities of RMV or other plant viruses, gall is just one more thing Nature uses to prevent any one species from becoming dominant. It's disappointing, but not necessarily the end of the world, nor does it automatically mean that plant is GOING to die. In my area, anything too closely related to Ballerina or The Fairy is pretty much guaranteed to gall and fairly quickly die from it. I have other roses which have demonstrated galls for years and don't seem to be adversely affected by them. Once you see the tell tale growth, it's too late. The bacterium has already done its thing and the plant is simply responding to it. Eliminating them from a pot area probably does little to control spread. I can't begin to count how many canned or potted roses I've seen in nurseries showing galls over the years, both budded and own root. No joke. Kim...See MoreCrown Gall, replant in same spot?
Comments (7)If it is gall, there are several schools of thought. Some say don't replant because the bacteria exists in that spot. But, the bacteria exists in MANY places. It is indigenous here in the west, like Oak Root Fungus, but both require the right conditions to be stimulated into active growth. Some say to replace the soil or dig it out, letting it dry thoroughly. There is even a school which suggests sterilizing the soil with a weak bleach solution, then flushing it through the soil with copious water, then letting the whole dry out completely before adding more organics or native soil and replanting. My own thought is, the bacteria is already there. It required the right conditions to establish its symptoms. Whether I replant in that soil or not, the chances are gall will occur. Some roses are much more susceptible to it than others. I've seen it on a number of Flower Carpet and the Meilland landscape roses. The Fairy is highly susceptible as is Francine Austin. Francine often forms galls everywhere it roots in many gardens around these parts. I've experienced gall on own root roses from various nurseries planted in only potting soil in cans. Neither Werner von Blon nor Rabble Rouser have been grown in native soil here, as both were small plants from two different nurseries. Both are canned in potting soil and both have galls. Most of the roses I've grown have no symptoms of it, but I know it's here. I seriously doubt any efforts to prevent it from occurring are going to have much effect, other than to use Galltrol, the antibiotic to control gall outbreaks. I don't week whack around the roses, nor do I dig around their roots. Moles and gophers do a lot of that for me. If a wound is necessary for the gall to enter and begin working its wonders in the plant, then rabbits, squirrels and gophers probably do more than enough to assist it. But, none of the canned plants have experienced those issues, yet they express gall. So, I live with it unless or until it becomes sufficiently serious to inhibit the plant. It's just another of Nature's checks to prevent any one species from becoming dominant. Kim...See MoreRoot Damage and Crown Gall
Comments (8)We've been dealing with crown gall in the Sacramento cemetery. We seem to especially get it where roses have been infested with grass, and men have trimmed carelessly with weedeaters. But that's not the only place. I do believe that damaging roots can increase the risk of entry, and sometimes you only discover the gall when you dig up the plant and find out how infested the roots have become. It isn't always evident on the crown. However, we have dug up roses and moved them, with no visible problem. We try to leave the planting spaces where we've removed gall-infected roses fallow for several years, although I've heard that doesn't really assure that the bacterium is gone. I've also been told that it is systemic throughout the plant, so propagating a gall-infested rose is not wise. We try to practice good hygiene with our pruners, and to avoid getting dirt in contact with a pruning cut. Since our roses are planted fairly far apart, we have watched roses with crown gall and not removed them until they begin to decline. They sometimes seem vigorous for years but then suddenly die back. I've learned to look at roots of a sickly rose when we are removing it, because I often find gall or rot of some kind. In California, Cooperative Extension doesn't test soil, but we do test galls or other diseased parts of plants. I've had the crown gall confirmed on several of our cemetery roses, and think now that I can recognize it when I see it. Some of the apparent galls on the canes have turned out just to be proliferating growth that can develop when a cane is sunburned or damaged otherwise. No tobacco was ever grown in the cemetery, I guarantee it! Anita...See MoreCrown Gall
Comments (6)Hi Gracin, no, you did nothing wrong, nor are you very likely to "prevent" gall. It's something extremely common here in the "desert south west" and particularly on Wichurana, and to a slightly lesser extent, multiflora types. The Fairy, from which the Drift and Flower Carpet roses are bred, is extremely susceptible to gall here. Finding one without gall is the rarity. I can now say every original Flower Carpet I've known for years is now dead from gall. Or, at least so severely weakened by them, they succumbed to some other extreme circumstance. Michael is very likely right that the cutting from which the plant was grown, was infected by the "wound" of being cut. I have own root polys which have never been in native soil here, only bagged, commercial potting soil, with galls. The same goes for a number of minis and other types. The bacterium exists virtually everywhere and is quite opportunistic. Despite your best efforts, it is very likely to show itself. About the only thing you can do to "prevent" it is to use products like Galltrol. These products have been commonly used by many rose producers to reduce the complaints of "sick plants" from their customers. If you haven't seen galls on your roses, it's likely due to conditions there not encouraging their growth, rather than the absence of the bacterium. Kim Here is a link that might be useful: Galltrol, Gallex...See MoreMoses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agohenry_kuska
6 years agohenry_kuska
6 years agooldrosarian
6 years agostillanntn6b
6 years ago
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