Rose Bush Canes Turning Black, Leaves Dead: Root Disease Likely

In Ohio, a 'Francois Rabelais' floribunda suddenly dying in hot summer: canes black, leaves black, blooms tiny/shriveled. Kept watered.

Black Canes + Sudden Death = Root Problem

Symptoms appear months after root damage. Likely causes:

Verticillium Wilt: Soil-borne fungus clogs vascular tissue. Sudden death.
Cane Canker: Fungus enters winter wounds, activates in heat. Kills from top down.
Crown Gall: Bacterial galls on roots block uptake. Dig to check.
Soil toxin/contaminant: Would affect nearby plants too.

Dig it up. Do not replant a rose there. The pathogen persists. Solarize soil or plant non-rose species.

Roses: Rose Black Spot vs. Bud Blackening: Diagnosis and Dormant Oil Strategy; Identifying and Treating Spots on Rose Leaves; Diagnosing and Treating Black Spot and Rose Midge on Your Yellow Rose Bush; Heat-Stressed Rose in Colorado: Yellow Leaves, Brown Tips; Diagnosing Blackened Rose Leaves: Spray Damage or Nutrient Issue?; Black Spot Defoliation on Roses in Kentucky: Identification and Treatment; Black Spot on Roses: Identification and Control; Newly Planted Rose Bush Turning Yellow? It's Likely Transplant Shock in Heat; Yellow Leaves with Holes: Insects, Watering, and the Two-Knuckle Test; Ivy Sunburn: Why Moving a Hedera Ivy Outdoors Turned Leaves Black

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