Hi Burt,

On most modern rose bushes all stems have a finite life span 2 to 4 years on
average. The rose name tag is invariably attached to the first and therefore
the oldest stem which is destined to die first. That's the theory but I have
not carried out any tests on this, maybe I will do so as like you I believe
there may be more to it.


Regards

Martin Double
Bexrose - Webmaster

Email:
Web Site: http://home.btconnect.com/cadoss/bexrose

"Burt Smith" wrote in message
. com...
HI All,
New here.
Prunung roses is a great time to ponder the mysteries of the universe.
Today's question is: Why is it that nearly always the cane that the name
tag
is on will be the one that dries up, dies and has to be cut off. The wire
is
always quite loose; no damage visible to the cane at all. Could it be a
metal
reaction? Or maybe some kind of electrical something created by the loop
of wire. I have about 40 roses and this has happened on nearly all of
them.

Any ideas??

Thanks,
Burt