Hello,

I was checking my parent's roses and they've been having a pretty hard winter after an infestation and I was trying to ensure that they didn't get worse so I was spraying them with water in the morning every about 2 weeks that probably wasn't the greatest decision in hindsight

Unfortunately, the place that they're in gets almost no sun in winter which is not great and there was a heavy rain about a week ago

I was cleaning the mulch when I checked the graft of the rose and it looked really black and after putting a little pressure, a piece of the rose wood came off

I'm wondering if the rose is rotting? And if it is, is there anyway to save it?




Unfortunately, most of the roses grafts look this way

The rose needs more mulch around the base. You have exposed the graft.

@bigbill

I exposed it purposely because I saw that it was blackening

Also, we're removing the mulch around the base as it's retaining too much moisture

Yes but many roses are very dark brown to almost black. It could be because they are usually below the soil.
When you expose the graft area, new shoots can break off easily and these new shoots are often subject to insect attack.

@bigbill

OH OK! THANK YOU! I guess we've been repeatedly making that mistake in my family as this rose was planted like 10 years ago haha

I think we're going to end up moving the roses because of the lack of sunlight in that area I think that's mainly why I'm concerned about rot, the moisture doesn't leave much

Good luck.

@bigbill

Thank you!!

I appreciate the help (:

My pleasure!

Move the bark away from the stems. Mulch should never touch the stems of any woody plant as it causes root rot.

https://web.extension.illinois....

Daniel, your rose looks fine. Forget the mulch. It looks fine. In your climate you shouldn't ever bury the graft. In cold climates we bury the graft to protect it from winter freezes that I doubt you ever experience in LA. And if you do they are only momentary and not for months like mine are. What you probably broke off was an old dead cane that should have been removed anyway. But I see two very green and healthy looking canes still there. Just leave it alone for now and wait for spring.

As rose canes age they do begin to turn brown/gray and barky looking. That is normal. The cane is not dead. If a cane is no longer producing any new growth, snip a piece off the top and look at the center. If it is brown/tan and dry looking it is dead. Go a little further down and snip again and check the center. Repeat this until you come to a center that looks creamy/white or pale greenish and moist. From there on down the cane is alive. If you continue to snip down to the base and cannot find that moist center then remove the entire cane as flush as possible to the graft without injuring the graft.

Roses need at least 6 hours, and prefer 8 hours, of full, direct sunlight to preform their best. Find a spot with good sunlight and move the roses there. They will repay you with more beautiful blooms than you've ever had before!

Thank you! @daisyl

Your advice is always super helpful @seilMI (:
Thanks for the help!!

Thank you Daniel. That's a nice thing to say.

What Seil said.

The only time I've ever buried the bud union is when I was hoping to encourage the rose to take off on its own roots, because I hated the rootstock.

None of my grafts are buried, as mentioned, it's not needed in warm climates.