Discovered some bushes with root gall. Need help deciding what to do
with the bushes and also to prevent spreading to other plants if that
is a concern. Thanks for any advice in advance.

On 4 Feb 2004 02:53:15 -0800, (Jim) wrote:

Discovered some bushes with root gall. Need help deciding what to do
with the bushes and also to prevent spreading to other plants if that
is a concern. Thanks for any advice in advance.

This sort of flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but the guy who
tends the gardens at Edmunds Roses isn't quite as concerned about gall
that most people are. He claims to have a few roses that have root
gall (I want to say something 20 out of several thousand roses), one
of which is 10 - 15 years old and quite large. In fact, he
specifically keeps that rose just to show that gall isn't necessarily
a death sentence, although he concedes that it probably ultimately
reduces the lifespan of the plant.

He says that efforts to sterilize soil after removal of the affected
plant is also rather futile, since the bacterium responsible is quite
widespread in most soils.

He suggested to me that panic was not in order, but that only the
grower can decide whether to keep the affected plant or not. If you
have root gall in one plant, it's likely that the potential exists for
the rest of your plants as well. The main thing is to try to avoid
creating an entrance for the bacteria by being careful not to nick the
plant at or below root level.

I'm relying on memory of a conversation that I had last year with him,
so I hope I'm not misrepresenting his words. If anyone wants a more
soothing opinion of root gall (and an accurate description of his
opinion), you might give Edmunds a call.

On 4 Feb 2004 02:53:15 -0800, (Jim) wrote:

Discovered some bushes with root gall. Need help deciding what to do
with the bushes and also to prevent spreading to other plants if that
is a concern. Thanks for any advice in advance.

This sort of flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but the guy who
tends the gardens at Edmunds Roses isn't quite as concerned about gall
that most people are. He claims to have a few roses that have root
gall (I want to say something 20 out of several thousand roses), one
of which is 10 - 15 years old and quite large. In fact, he
specifically keeps that rose just to show that gall isn't necessarily
a death sentence, although he concedes that it probably ultimately
reduces the lifespan of the plant.

He says that efforts to sterilize soil after removal of the affected
plant is also rather futile, since the bacterium responsible is quite
widespread in most soils.

He suggested to me that panic was not in order, but that only the
grower can decide whether to keep the affected plant or not. If you
have root gall in one plant, it's likely that the potential exists for
the rest of your plants as well. The main thing is to try to avoid
creating an entrance for the bacteria by being careful not to nick the
plant at or below root level.

I'm relying on memory of a conversation that I had last year with him,
so I hope I'm not misrepresenting his words. If anyone wants a more
soothing opinion of root gall (and an accurate description of his
opinion), you might give Edmunds a call.

I second that.
I have a 6 year old talisman that is
growing quite nicely in a pot w/ gall.

Every now and then a sprout shows up
that I sterilize so it doesn't spread.

Theo

"dave weil" wrote in message
...
On 4 Feb 2004 02:53:15 -0800, (Jim) wrote:

Discovered some bushes with root gall. Need help deciding what to do
with the bushes and also to prevent spreading to other plants if that
is a concern. Thanks for any advice in advance.

This sort of flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but the guy who
tends the gardens at Edmunds Roses isn't quite as concerned about gall
that most people are. He claims to have a few roses that have root
gall (I want to say something 20 out of several thousand roses), one
of which is 10 - 15 years old and quite large. In fact, he
specifically keeps that rose just to show that gall isn't necessarily
a death sentence, although he concedes that it probably ultimately
reduces the lifespan of the plant.

He says that efforts to sterilize soil after removal of the affected
plant is also rather futile, since the bacterium responsible is quite
widespread in most soils.

He suggested to me that panic was not in order, but that only the
grower can decide whether to keep the affected plant or not. If you
have root gall in one plant, it's likely that the potential exists for
the rest of your plants as well. The main thing is to try to avoid
creating an entrance for the bacteria by being careful not to nick the
plant at or below root level.

I'm relying on memory of a conversation that I had last year with him,
so I hope I'm not misrepresenting his words. If anyone wants a more
soothing opinion of root gall (and an accurate description of his
opinion), you might give Edmunds a call.

I second that.
I have a 6 year old talisman that is
growing quite nicely in a pot w/ gall.

Every now and then a sprout shows up
that I sterilize so it doesn't spread.

Theo

"dave weil" wrote in message
...
On 4 Feb 2004 02:53:15 -0800, (Jim) wrote:

Discovered some bushes with root gall. Need help deciding what to do
with the bushes and also to prevent spreading to other plants if that
is a concern. Thanks for any advice in advance.

This sort of flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but the guy who
tends the gardens at Edmunds Roses isn't quite as concerned about gall
that most people are. He claims to have a few roses that have root
gall (I want to say something 20 out of several thousand roses), one
of which is 10 - 15 years old and quite large. In fact, he
specifically keeps that rose just to show that gall isn't necessarily
a death sentence, although he concedes that it probably ultimately
reduces the lifespan of the plant.

He says that efforts to sterilize soil after removal of the affected
plant is also rather futile, since the bacterium responsible is quite
widespread in most soils.

He suggested to me that panic was not in order, but that only the
grower can decide whether to keep the affected plant or not. If you
have root gall in one plant, it's likely that the potential exists for
the rest of your plants as well. The main thing is to try to avoid
creating an entrance for the bacteria by being careful not to nick the
plant at or below root level.

I'm relying on memory of a conversation that I had last year with him,
so I hope I'm not misrepresenting his words. If anyone wants a more
soothing opinion of root gall (and an accurate description of his
opinion), you might give Edmunds a call.

I second that.
I have a 6 year old talisman that is
growing quite nicely in a pot w/ gall.

Every now and then a sprout shows up
that I sterilize so it doesn't spread.

Theo

"dave weil" wrote in message
...
On 4 Feb 2004 02:53:15 -0800, (Jim) wrote:

Discovered some bushes with root gall. Need help deciding what to do
with the bushes and also to prevent spreading to other plants if that
is a concern. Thanks for any advice in advance.

This sort of flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but the guy who
tends the gardens at Edmunds Roses isn't quite as concerned about gall
that most people are. He claims to have a few roses that have root
gall (I want to say something 20 out of several thousand roses), one
of which is 10 - 15 years old and quite large. In fact, he
specifically keeps that rose just to show that gall isn't necessarily
a death sentence, although he concedes that it probably ultimately
reduces the lifespan of the plant.

He says that efforts to sterilize soil after removal of the affected
plant is also rather futile, since the bacterium responsible is quite
widespread in most soils.

He suggested to me that panic was not in order, but that only the
grower can decide whether to keep the affected plant or not. If you
have root gall in one plant, it's likely that the potential exists for
the rest of your plants as well. The main thing is to try to avoid
creating an entrance for the bacteria by being careful not to nick the
plant at or below root level.

I'm relying on memory of a conversation that I had last year with him,
so I hope I'm not misrepresenting his words. If anyone wants a more
soothing opinion of root gall (and an accurate description of his
opinion), you might give Edmunds a call.