Several persons wonder why are there roses plants at the head of a row of vines, are they useful or is it just for the eyes pleasure. Yes, apart from the fact that they bring a touch of color, the rose plays an important part in the vineyard’s life.
In certain wine regions one can see roses planted at the head of vine rows. They will be able to alert the wine grower on an illness known as loïdium caused by a similar mushroom and as destructive as mildew. Being much more sensitive than the vine, the rose plant will be the first one to get the disease. Hence the wine-grower will be alerted to the attack on his vines, and will be able to take the appropriate measures before these are being attacked! In the olden days it was said that they signaled the plow horse the end of a row of vines allowing for a larger space for the turn. This permitted the horse to avoid ripping a peg or a vine. The rose plant had two functions, that of joining the beautiful to the useful.
