"higgledy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I lost a Knock Out rose to a borer, I thought I cut it out last fall
but now I know I did not. My question is I have 2 other roses right
next to the bored rose. Both look healthy, but should I be concerned?
Can a borer spread via the soil or is strictly need exposure to an open
cane?

I've lost a couple roses to borers this year, and a couple more are iffy
(found a borer in one cane, cut it out but...). I read up on rose cane or
rose stem borers and it seems there's really nothing you can do but hope to
catch a dying cane before the whole rose dies. I do believe there needs to
be an opening in a cane. How that happens, I don't know. I put white glue
on any pruning cut I make, except the really small ones, and I don't weed
whack around my roses. Perhaps rabbits or other critters make holes. But I
don't think you need to worry about the nearby roses. The ones I lost have
roses nearby and those remain healthy.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8