Seil - thanks for the advice. I've put soil in to the top of the pot, just covering the crown - after removing the dead cane pieces. Light fertilizer is a great idea - will do that too. Jin - will look into epsom salt.

Looks to me like the graft union is failing. I agree with Seil. I would plant deeply enough to try to get the cane to grow its own roots, at least a couple of inches at the bottom. It sounds like you are already doing this. Good luck!

Right now, soil is just over the crown. I can squeeze in a little more soil so that it covers an inch of the live cane, which I'll do.

Wondering about crown rejuvenation. As I cut off the dead canes, I never got to anything "live" in that crown. Should I see any signs of life - any green / non dead woody material (if not in my case, in a normal case?)

I have done the same buring the crown a bit. I like to give roses a bit of a boost with some composted manure. I think it helps hold moisture as well as provide some food. A bit of alfalfa meal might be helpful if your not going into a cool fall/winter period soon.

I’ve also trimmed dead canes as close to flush with the crown. I believe it does help rejuvenate roses that have slowed down. It’s worked for me in the past, though in this case waiting may be a better option.

I'm not sure about the epsom salts thing. I had heard it for years and used it myself but in recent years I've heard that it's not true. I don't think it would hurt anything to try.

I've also heard that removing the stumps of the dead canes and using a steel brush on the old crown to scrape it up can stimulate new growth too. I've never tried that one though so can't say if it works.

Alfalfa meal seems to work wonders for me.

I recollect knowledgeable gardengal debunking, here, epsom salts' utility, as well as advocating alfalfa's triconatol, for your concern.

I second the rec for only light nutritional supplementation.

There was something in a recent ARS article that recommended doing the roughing up of the base of the one cane you have like Seil mentioned then wrapping that roughed up part with sphagnum moss and plastic wrap for a couple of weeks. I'd be too scared that I would destroy the one cane I have, so I'm more a fan of mounding soil over the base of the cane that's there and adding alfalfa to encourage more basal breaks.

Cynthia

I'd be nervous about roughing up the cane and wrapping, also. Wrapping with sphagnum *here* in the summer would be risky due to the heat and likelihood of it drying out in less than a day even wrapped with plastic. That plastic could end up cooking the cane also. Or in the winter it would freeze. In your climate it might work, but I'd be more comfortable doing it how you are.

I would also take a cutting (or two or more if I could). The way I take cuttings is from a just-bloomed stem, and 2-3 nodes, so it looks like you have enough stem for that in the last photo. There are many, many ways that people do cuttings and you can see that in the Rose Propagation and Exchange forum. I talk about the way I do my cuttings in this thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/success-with-florist-roses-dsvw-vd~3549922 It's just what works for me but everyone seems to have their own way that they like.

Just so you can see how small the cuttings are, I just took these photos just now, with what's cooking.

Here's an Abe cutting (see the roots coming out at the bottom), this cutting has only one leaf and the dried peduncle above it.

And Bolero, this pot has two cuttings:

In your zone it wouldn't be a bad time of year for cuttings. My mother in the East Bay just lops a branch off and sticks it in the ground at pruning time, and she gets nearly 100% success. She doesn't use rooting hormone or any special treatment.

Thank you so much for the input. I have mounded up the dirt as high as I can pile it in its current container (you can kind-of see in the second pic). The crown is completely covered, and dirt is mounded up about 1" up the one cane.

I'm doing a bunch of experimentation with cuttings - I have about 20 cuttings currently in different mediums, some with rooting hormone, some without. As I've had low odds of success so far ( from my first 9 cuttings - have one that survived, then out of 3, have one that is looking pretty good) - I'd like to improve my odds before I start cutting into my Black Garnet who is showing great improvement with the changes. As soon as I feel I may have success with few cuttings, I'll take them.

My most recent bloom.

That's gorgeous. No wonder you are so keen on keeping it. Good luck.