On 05/04/2014 15:10, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
On Sat, 05 Apr 2014 12:22:29 +0100, george - dicegeorge
wrote:

I was putting in new eye hooks
and pulling the top of the rose
around the corner of the house
when the stem split lower down.

I've tied it up with string.
But insects could get in the split and kill it.

Shall I coat it with tar or PVA or woodglue
of foamy glue to stop bugs getting in
or leave it alone and hope
the sap will repair it from inside?

[george]
.

The last time I mended a split stem I used brown parcel tape. When I
moved house years later it was still stuck on and the stem had grown.

Steve




Yes, I've done something very similar and it does work. However, it
won't work if the rose stem is still bent or twisted so that the injured
area of stem is still agape. The two layers of stem must be bound
snugly together, as for a graft, so that they heal together.

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay