Clare, how frustrating.

I remember back in the 60s my grandparents had a beautiful rose garden. He tended it daily but I dont remember him having any of the issues that growers are currently dealing with.

There are so many challenges that we are trying to keep under control. There may come that day when it becomes more trouble than it is worth. Im glad that there are so many other plants that I love, but a world without roses would be a pretty empty place.

I am so sorry that you are facing such difficulties. It is sad and disappointing to lose our beloved roses.

Just found out 8 of my rose trees have crown gall! I just bought them this year. Now I will try to find a way to save them. I don't want to kill them yet. We need some help from the pros.

Clare,

Should the day arrive that you must give up on having roses may I suggest you consider planting Wild Flowers. Huh, you say, go from roses to wild flowers never going to happen….. well, you won’t have roses so….

Years ago, more than I care to think about, I had a very small backyard and I wanted some flowers. I dug up a two foot wide strip along both sides of the yard leading to an alley and planted a handful of wild flowers. They bloomed and lasted forever. About that time I came across some very large boulders that I placed across the back area to form a raised bed. Each stone weighted at least 100 lbs or more. I filled the bed in about 1/4 full of dirt then poured a 20 lb bag of 20-20-20 fertilizer on top of that. (The bed was only about 12 feet long and needless to say I didn’t know the first thing about growing flowers!) After filling the bed full of dirt I planted a row of some miniature Marigolds and Geraniums. Stood back and watched what happened.

The Geraniums grew so large that they overlapped the bed and rocks. They grew to 3-4 feet wide!!! The Marigolds grew to about 18 inches in size — note these were miniature. My neighbor who worked at a flower nursery wanted cuttings as she couldn’t believe the size… lol

Over the years I have always had a bed of wildflowers. I suggest the annual type so you have control of what grows and what doesn’t. Perennial flowers tend to take over and block out the annuals so stick with the annuals. I would plant so many seeds that the early ones block out the later type. That way after the early ones are finished the later one come into play. Should last clear into the fall. California poppies and Dwarf Plains Coreopsis are two of my favorites.

PS Hire someone to till the ground…..

Hope this sort of cheered you up.

That's miserable, Clare. I certainly can empathise. I was ready to give up a couple of years ago, due to fungal issues. I don't know the first thing about crown gall, but is it a possibility to replant in a large cardboard box buried in the ground, as it is with rose replant sickness?

Amen! to an annual bed. Collect the seed and you'll always have flowers.

The perennials that compliment roses are all lovely on their own, too. Hydrangeas, phlox, iris, shastas, coneflowers, clematis, lilies, peonies, etc. All are easy care, with no threat of diseases that wipe out entire gardens. Some you just whack to the ground in the fall and they're back, bigger and better the following spring.

I too love roses but they are hard to grow in my climate so every year I visit rose garden in my area. I get to enjoy the roses without worrying about diseases or not getting them through the winter.

Consider doing the same thing. Instead of growing them yourself, just go the hassle free way and visit a rose garden.

Clare, how many roses do you have? It’s not all that bad. Roses can be treated. I will let you know when I find a way to treat crown gall. It’s treatable. Big trees get crown gall too, do people cut down the trees? No. I will check the tree forum. Don’t give them up! There is always a way to go around, my grandma‘s old saying.

What causes crown gall ?

Roses are very difficult (if not impossible) to grow here as well. The winters are harsh and the soil is too alkaline for them. Some extremely tough roses (like the knockouts) will survive our winters, but the majority of them will not. And, like most places, we have Japanese beetles as well as the countless other insects that make life hell for roses.

When it comes to insects and disease, there must be few plants that are more cursed than roses!

Kristine, this might help: http://www.rosemagazine.com/articles04/rose_gall/

This is what I found so far: https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/plant-disease/crown-gall/

"

Treatment

1. Select resistant cultivars when possible and purchase plants from a reputable nursery.
2. Do not buy plants that shows signs of swelling or galling.
3. When caring for susceptible plants, avoid injury or pruning wounds that may come in contact with the soil.
4. Use Tree Wrap to protect against string trimmer damage and keep your garden tools clean.
5. Provide winter protection with natural burlap so bark does not crack.
6. In many cases, existing galls can be removed with a sharp pruning knife. Destroy the infected plant tissue and treat the wound with pruning sealer. If the plant does not recover, remove and destroy it.

Tip: To get rid of this problem on roses, remove the infested plant and prune out gall tissue. Soak the entire root system and damaged areas for 15 minutes in a solution of 2 level Tbsp of Actinovate per 2-1/2 gallons of water. Replant in healthy soil and apply 1/2 Tbsp per 2-1/2 gallons of water as a foliar spray at weekly intervals."

Have to buy some Actinovate!

Thank you, very intetesting articles

I will prune out gall tissues on 8 potted rose trees, and water the 8 potted soil with Actinovate mix and spray all the roses at that location. I have about 250 roses at that location including 74 potted rose trees. I really hope Actinovate rock!

I also found this : https://midwestwinepress.com/2012/03/27/top-tips-for-controlling-crown-gall/

It mentioned about Liquid Copper, that would be much cheaper than Actinovate!

Have to ask Henry about this.

I sympathize, Clare. They are just too much work. I have approx. 30 bushes and wish I had 3!

I'm so sorry! I know how frustrating it could be. Here's one thought I had since your issues in the ground how about try large pots. Greenhouse mega store, I believe is the name has 15 to I think 25 gallon black tree pots, may be the name. You can grow really large Rose's in those I believe. Jeep your head up.

I have had zero experience with this type of gall. I get galls from wasps on my rugosas.

Here is a recent thesis that may be of interest:

http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/123456789/14343/Management%20of%20crown%20gall%20disease%20of%20roses%20using.pdf;sequence=1library.ku.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/123456789/14343/Management%20of%20crown%20gall%20disease%20of%20roses%20using.pdf;sequence=1

Thanks so much everyone for reading and commenting on my rant. In a sense, it helps me to learn that there are others facing just as much difficulties.

Kristine: it's true that it seems roses were much more easy to cultivate in the past. In a sense, I feel like collecting and introducing new roses into the garden because of my love for them, is ironically the reason why they are facing such difficulties. I have a cousin who has two roses at her home grown decades old. They are very healthy and vigorous and I see no disease issue with them. She never buys any knew ones and lives out in the country and so rose diseases are not introduced to her plants. As opposed to mine, where for years I've had knew roses coming in from every all over the country and many different nurseries. One of the biggest regrets for me is knowingly planting roses that had crown gall on them. It was suggested that I cut off the gall from the new bareroots and soak them in a bleach solution. Well, I did that, and eventually these same ones are full of crown gall now have brought it into my yard and spread it to the others.

Toolbelt: About the wildflower bed, actually I already do grow many annuals. Mainly cosmos and zinnias! They're great and reliable, but still there is NOTHING like the richness of roses to me and I find myself only looking at the roses if they're in bloom

Summersrythm: I do have about 30 rose bushes right now, which doesn't seem like a lot compared to some, but with my poor physical health it is a lot to care for. They are a mix of modern and old roses. The thing about using a product like Actinovate is that it is good if you can remove the gall. On many of mine however, it is right at the base rising up from the roots surrounding all sides, so it's something that would need to be dug up entirely. Picture attached is an example but many of mine are much larger than this and in ground.

Here is another example of what the gall looks like. I also notice that many of the roses in the local gardens are galled like this as well as well as bushes I see around the neighborhood.

Henry: Thanks for the article, it's going to be very informative!

Thanks so much Ingrid, I do hear that the drought restrictions in California can be brutal. I am very sorry to hear about your husband, any disease affecting the brain is devastating news for everyone.

It's a challenge for sure but whenever you get a bloom from a rose you know that it's all worth it. For the future, I see myself planting a couple of roses on the balcony in pots, planted far away from the ground soil as to not contaminate them and using a chemical that inhibits the gall bacteria growth. As for my precious roses in the ground with gall, I'm still deciding what to do with them but I think it's eventually going to involve hiring gardeners to remove them.

Ingrid, sorry to hear that your DH is going through a difficult time, if I remember it right he is an engineer, a very smart guy. Hope the treatment goes well, and he will get better very soon. It must be very hard on you taking care a lot of things.

I thought CA is out of drought for some reason. Would like to send some rain over. We have too much rain here, have to mow the lawn every weekend, the grass grows too fast, my push mower gets stuck all the time.

this is our drought map now, at least its not completely dark red now?

I have only one sentimental rose bush. I love it and the first bloom in June is beautiful. It tries to re-bloom all summer but the flowers are destroyed by Japanese beetles. I am SO frustrated and discouraged - I want to replace my poor besieged shrub. Any ideas what I should plant that is about the same size (36" T x 30" W). It is surrounded by pink coneflowers, bluebeard shrub, daisies, daylilies - a cottage garden.

If you would like a light colored rose, my Bliss is doing incredible in the 90 degree heat , putting on new growth, buds and large, long lasting blooms. They went from peachy pink to creamy white. No bug problems at the moment while Abe Darby is bitten nearly to death. Bliss is a dream rose.