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Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

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Bob Ross

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Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Bob Ross » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:27 pm

A few reasons I've heard or seen:

1. Early warning for Powdery Mildew and/or Gray Mold.

2. Attract bugs and diseases [I suppose for a leg up on killing the critters or treating the disease.]

3. Color coding of grapes: red roses for reds, white roses for whites.

4. Aesthetics.

5. Prevent donkeys, horses and mules from eating grapes and grape leaves as they reached the end of the row and were turning around.

6. Indicator of missing trace elements in the soil, i.e. a barometer of soil health.

7. To identify ownership, in Burgundy, for example, each row of vines may belong to different owners.

8. Roses and grape vines grow well together, and both can be cash crops -- flowers, rose water and rose hips, on the one hand, and table grapes and wine on the other.

9. Roses and grapes bloom at the same time, and roses attract bees to pollinate both flowers.

10. Rose hedges were once used as a barricade against wild and domestic cattle; today they honor the guardian roses of yore.

11. Tradition.

12. Who knows?

Any other theories or ideas?

Regards, Bob
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by David M. Bueker » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:53 pm

I have asked this at several Virginia wineries & they all say that the roses pick up diseases faster than the grapes, thus giving early warning.
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Robin Garr » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:05 pm

What David said: I've heard the "early detection of diseases" story in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piemonte and Barossa, so it's certainly a widespread belief.

I'm sure the force of tradition also plays a role here.
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Bob Ross » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:59 pm

This just in from a friend: roses serve as habitat for helpful insects.
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Mark Lipton » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:52 pm

I've always heard (mostly in CA) that the tradition is a Burgundian one and that the roses were more sensitive to oidium (powdery mildew) and so served as an early warning system.

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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Michael Pronay » Wed Sep 05, 2007 5:21 am

Bob, #1 is what they tell you everywhere. But when you dig deeper, they all admit that it's merely #4 and #11.

Keeping vines and grapes healthy by relying on rose bushes definitely is not state of the art in viticulture in the 21st century. 8)
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Peter May » Wed Sep 05, 2007 5:23 am

Regarding the reasons such as helping/monitoring health of vineyard -- which seem reasonable -- I have noticed that those wineries that keep the tradition seem to do so only where the rose bushes are visible to visitors and/or from the winery.

The vineyards out of sight don't get the rosebushes. Since these vineyards are surely in as much need of help/monitoring I have come to believe the practise continues because it looks attractive and for no other reason.
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Brian Gilp » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:54 am

Well I can tell you from one years experience that they do not attract more bugs than the grapes do. I got some on them, mostly jap beatles, but nothing like the grapes. As for housing beneficials, I have not noticed any benefit nor have I read that this is the case. I am planting other plants to serve this purpose.

As others have said, I had been told for disease pressure but not sure that makes sense since by the time I see it on the roses, it will be largely too late to protect against molds/mildews. I have read on a growers board that the only real purpose is as a warning for Black Rot but have not really looked into that yet.

I planted them because the vinerows end at my driveway and the roses add a nice touch as someone drives back to our house. So in my case it was all Aesthetics.
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Thomas » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:23 am

Brian Gilp wrote:Well I can tell you from one years experience that they do not attract more bugs than the grapes do. I got some on them, mostly jap beatles, but nothing like the grapes. As for housing beneficials, I have not noticed any benefit nor have I read that this is the case. I am planting other plants to serve this purpose.

As others have said, I had been told for disease pressure but not sure that makes sense since by the time I see it on the roses, it will be largely too late to protect against molds/mildews. I have read on a growers board that the only real purpose is as a warning for Black Rot but have not really looked into that yet.

I planted them because the vinerows end at my driveway and the roses add a nice touch as someone drives back to our house. So in my case it was all Aesthetics.


Truth be told, roses may attract diseases rather than deter them. Certainly, the flowers attract insects. The thorns, however, do keep hand pickers from picking roses...

I vote for aesthetics, but I like the idea of denoting color: red, white, and pink roses at the end of red, white and, wait a minute!
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Neil Courtney » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:43 am

#9 does not gel. I thought that grape flowers were wind pollinated. No wind at flowering time, no grapes.
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Thomas » Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:19 am

Neil Courtney wrote:#9 does not gel. I thought that grape flowers were wind pollinated. No wind at flowering time, no grapes.


Which is why we have such a good grape crop in the Finger Lakes. We harvest Canadian wind...
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Lou Kessler » Wed Sep 05, 2007 1:52 pm

At one time in history probably #1 & #2 but at this point in time #4 & #11. This according to vineyard owners that I've talked to over the years. Some vineyard owners take great pride in the magnificent roses that they grow.
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Bob Ross » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:20 pm

Lots of great comments -- thanks very much everyone.

There is some support for the attracting insects reason -- in order to destroy them. The bibliographical info on this book on Google Books is incomplete, but it is apparently an US effort and was digitized from the Harvard Library.

1830, J. Dobson, etc. etc. 355 pages.
A Treatise on the Vine: Embracing Its History from the Earliest Ages to the ...
Illustrated by W. Prince, Peter Grain, Contribtor Elam Bliss, Judah Dobson, John B Russell, Gideon B. Smith, James Winston, Joseph Simmons, Jonathan Seymour, T. And J. Swords, etc. Published 1830.

Page 320: Rose bugs are also in some cases very destructive to vines. They may be attracted from a vineyard by planting a hedge of rose bushes at the same time the plantation of vines is formed; their preference for which plant will serve to draw them off from attacks on the vines, and when they have accumulated on the roses bushes, they may be destroyed without much labour, by adopting the following method: As soon as the bugs are seen to collect on the roses, take a vessel about half filled with water in one hand, and hold it under the infested flowers, and with the other hand or a stick, disturb the bugs, and they will instantly fall into the water, from which they cannot extricate themselves. In that way great quantities of them may be collected, which by throwing into hot water are in a moment destroyed; and half an hour so spent for a few mornings will entirely get rid of this evil.

60 years later the Philadelphia Entomology Society published similar advice:


NOTES ON COLEÓPTERA. BY CHAS. LIEBECK. While visiting some friends near Landisville, N. J., during the summer of 1888, my attention was directed to the damage caused by the common Rose bug, Macrodactylus subspinosus Fab., to the young grapes in their vineyard, situated about two hundred yards from their house. About the same time they planted a few rose bushes of the common free blooming variety in front of the house. In June, 1889, the beetles again made their appearance in large numbers, but showed a decided preference for the roses, not molesting the vines in the least. The bushes, at a short distance, appeared to be scorched, but a nearer view showed that they were being devoured by the beetles, and although the bushes had grown to a large size, bearing hundreds of buds and flowers, none seemed to have escaped their voracity. If others similarly afflicted would plant a hedge of roses in the vicinity of their vineyard it may prevent damage by this pest to their grapes.

In my book, the folks in 1830 had a much better idea -- lure the insects and then destroy them. I've tried traps to protect our roses from Japanese beetles, but I'm convinced they attract them to our plants.

Where are those insects going to go once the roses are completely scorched?
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Re: Why are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows of vines?

by Paulo in Philly » Thu Sep 06, 2007 2:16 am

Robin Garr wrote:What David said: I've heard the "early detection of diseases" story in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piemonte and Barossa, so it's certainly a widespread belief.

I'm sure the force of tradition also plays a role here.


I've asked producers in Umbria as well and got the same response. I think, too, it just looks "purdy"!!! 8)

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