Garden Bad Guys - Crown Gall
by Nanette Londeree, Consulting Rosarian
Crown gall is a disease caused by a soil inhabiting bacterium that infects many ornamentals and fruit trees in the garden. It is often brought to a garden on the stems or roots of an infected plant and spread with contaminated pruning tools and soils. This bacterial disease causes the formation of large corky galls up to several inches in diameter. They appear at the base of the plant and on stems and roots, and commonly on the bud union. The galls are rounded with rough, irregular surfaces and may be dark and cracked. Plants with numerous galls are weak; growth is slowed and leaves turn yellow. Branches or the entire plan may die back. Plants with only a few galls often show no other symptoms. Crown gall is not specific to roses and can affect apples, raspberries, honeysuckle, euonymus, and many vegetables. For this reason, roses should not be planted where plants susceptible to crown gall have been removed because of the disease.
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