GardenQuilts said:Seal any cut canes with glue to prevent boring insects from eating the cane centers. They kill the canes as they eat them.They can damage and kill the plant. I use Elmers white glue. The brand name one works better for me than the dollar store variety. I keep a bottle in my gardening basket.
Andi ...
That is common advice, but I don't think it is necesssary
unless you know you have boring insects in your garden that cause severe cane damage. In my garden, I have boring wasps that only bore into the canes for about two inches. They do not kill the roses and there is no need to seal the canes. I only need to cut out those two inches and the problem is solved. For me, sealing canes is unnecessary in this garden. I think that kind of advice is garden specific.
When you are pruning 100 + roses, sealing pruning cuts can be a real chore, so I believe you should do so only when warranted, not as a general practice.
I also have a wasp that creates galls. That is not an indicator of crown gall. Many people would misdiagnose the symptom and remove the rose, when all that is necessary is to cut out the gall.
How do you tell ? With the internet, we can do a lot of research and check things out before we do a lot of unnecessary work or take drastic steps. I think it's a case of doing our homework to find out what kind of insect we are dealing with and what kind of action is required for our rose care.
