Let me start by congratulating you on knowing where you are. You would not believe the number of people who ask for help who seem to have trouble with that simple question.

There are two widely held myths about roses based on the idea that Rose = Hybrid Tea. One is that all healthy canes are green. The other is that only white pith is healthy. Depending on the age and ancestry of the rose, healthy canes can be green, red, brown, grey, or some other color I've forgotten.

Regarding pith, the easiest explanation is that like any other woody plant, roses can have heartwood. This develops after a year or three, depending on ancestry, and is brown. I can't tell from the photo if the pith is soft/rotten or just dark. The only thing dark means is the cane has been through a winter or two. Sort of by definition, marginally hardy roses don't overwinter enough cane to develop this, which is why you get the instructions to cut out canes with dark pith. If the cane seems healthy otherwise, I'm still trying to figure out what soft means. Some roses (Rose de Rescht, I'm looking at you) seem to always have soft, brown pith. It's just not something to get excited about.

If, at spring pruning, I had cut my Jeanne La Joie, climbing minis, brown pith away, they would have to have been pruned to the ground all except for any basal, previous year's canes which, still had white/cream colored pith. All older wood had brown pith and grew healthy, vigorous further growth. I no longer grow Jeanne La Joie, just a personal decision, being no reflection on JLJ's otherwise very positive attributes.

Moses

Moses, Western PA., zone 5/6, USA

5 minutes ago

If, at spring pruning, I had cut my Jeanne La Joie, climbing minis,

First: I don’t think you keeled over at the keyboard unless you fell on ”submit”.

An option, to avoid Houzz mischief, is to prepare a comment elsewhere, like ”email compose”, then copy that comment and paste in the Rose Forum comment box.

Mad Gallica, thank you for your comments, I am hopeful that my PAOK will come through. Of course, these were the very first roses I planted smack down in the center of my front landscaping. I am going to watch them more closely now.

Moses, good to know. Oh and yes, I wish there was an edit option on here. Apparently, I am living in the future.

Being low tech, a state of existence I prefer, how I avoid being accidentally deleted before a post is completed: I submit my post after only a few words/short sentences are typed, then go to edit, make corrections and lengthenings as needed, then click submit again. I go back and forth between submit and edit until I am pretty certain my message is complete and edited for grammar and spelling, then make a final submit.

I know more efficient methods are out there, but being a recent septigenarian gives me certain unconventional privileges and prerogatives I intend to take full advantage of, and do things in a way that works for ...it's a boundary issue, too! 😁

Moses

Colleen, there is an edit option. Once you post a comment, at the bottom right of your post there is an EDIT button and a DELETE button. Click on the EDIT button, and it brings up your post, and you can edit at will.

Susan, I do not seem to have that option to edit after I post a comment.

That's odd. Are you viewing it on the web, or on some weird email thing?