I think the stem got an injury at the site which got infected with a benign pathogen which killed the growth beyond the point of injury making that juncture easily snapped off. The gall like growth was the result of infected sap oozing forth and solidifying, attaching itself to the upper stem part but did not infiltrate into the rest of the bush.

Just go with the flow, as the Hippies frequently said, and see what happens next. Don't worry yourself. If it is crown gall, you will find out in due time, and then .proceed as is customary. Bushes are generally removed if so, and the immediate soil to the volume of about three gallons worth is removed, and discarded off site.

Moses

Thanks for the insights!

I now have a 2nd rose with a dead cane and found a funny looking growth at the base of the cane. This time Julia Child. Now left as a one cane wonder, although it is growing well enough. The previous rose, Emily Bronte, is doing nicely. Thoughts? Coincidence? Should i remove this plant?

I pried a lump of what looked like gall off of a couple of my roses at the crown and they carried on as normal subsequently.

I would do what Sheila did, Chris. What the old time rosarians did was just remove the galls and let the bush show if it is growing properly. If the bush declines, then it's time to remov it, and the soil it was growing in, not to be composted, but discarded.

Is there a chance that you purchased the roses from the same source and that they had gall already, but too small to detect with the eye? They looked perfectly normal at time of purchase?

Moses