Well terrific. About 1.5 years ago, we planted a line of Drift roses along the front edge of the property. It was meant to serve as a deterrent to people sitting on about a 16 inch concrete retaining wall, soften the edge of said wall where it hits the sidewalk, deter people who don't clean up after their dogs from using the yard, and provide a small buffer to the plants behind the roses as I continue to eliminate lawn. Near the end of the 2016 season I noticed rosettes. I just assumed it was a mutant brach and left it alone. This last year there were 3 plants with rosettes. Again, I just figured they were throwing mutant branches. Today I happened to notice a picture while plant surfing online. Then I read about Rose Rosette Disease. Arrgggggghhhhh!!!

It is eventually fatal and seems that the only thing to do is bag and remove. However, They had just started growing together. Even if I remove them, I am guessing I couldn't plant more roses in those locations so is the dream of a mini rose hedge dead? Has anyone experienced this disease?

Post pictures of them. That will help a lot although it does sound like RRD.

@UrbanWild ....

@MargieNY posted this to the Rose Forum in December

https://garden.org/thread/view...

It has a link to a post she made in a thread about Rose Rosette Disease.

Thanks! The book mentioned, http://www.rosegeeks.com/index, is a great resource and pretty much tracks with outcomes I saw in al the literature the I read yesterday. While the moderate-to-long-term prognosis doesn't change, it looks like some tough love can prolong the period before I have to give up on them. So, I need to start thinking of the next low, prickly hedge that can withstand the heat and provide flowers all season.

BTW, if you have RRD, they request you notify foks:

http://www.rosegeeks.com/id57....

What about dwarf holly? Not thorny but who wants to mess with the leaves?

I have to cut 2 hollies now. They are planted close to foundation and sidewalk. It looks like the sidewalk has been cracked because of it. As the roses are planted directly next to a small concrete retaining wall (mere inches) I don't want to tempt the fates. Would love to keep hollies though.

Given the prevailing wind direction, how far can the mites `ride` the breeze?
I would really hate to infect someone else's plants should they arrive on my roses. To the east of me a nursery sells a lot of Knock-Out roses. Don't want to infect them and vise-versa.
Is there any way to protect our roses? I need to get a lot more info. to help deter the spread of these microscopic monsters.
Guess I'd better get busy researching more!

Tisha

Tisha ... click on the rosegeeks link above. That's a great start to get a lot more information.

Meeting in Washington, DC about Rose Rosette Disease:

Rose Rosette Disease-an Update
March 25, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
U.S. National Arboretum Auditorium

Have you stopped growing roses because you worry about using pesticides? Would you like recommendations for roses that will thrive without heavy chemical use? Dr. Mark Windham, a leading expert on Rose Rosette Disease, will discuss his research findings and give rose lovers a chance to have their favorite flower make a stunning second debut in their garden. Rose Rosette Disease (RRD) has been identified as one of biggest threats to roses, so this is a can't miss talk for any grower. This talk is cosponsored by the American Rose Society. Fee: $12 (FONA $10) Registration Required

Update: RRD /RRV
Went to the above meeting. Unfortunately I arrived 30 minutes late because I was stupid enough in thinking that it is easy to get there. I have learned now, that even if it says on the instruction that it is very easy, always look in a zoomed in map of the lay out of the streets, so I will be familiar with the surrounding streets--now about what I have learned from the meeting:

Be familiar how the RRD looks like.
You can easily find lots of images if you search online under 'rose rosetta virus'. However, the symptoms do not appear early on. We need a very strong magnifying glass or a microscope to recognize the virus. They are invisible without them. They look like a tiny yellow or brown banana with whiskers on one end. The virus cannot fly, but they travel with the wind. There is no rose yet that is immune to RRD.

Dr. Windham told us what he does when he has new rose plants.
He plants them in a separate area of his garden in containers. After a year or two, if the roses are still healthy and he likes them, then he gives them their permanent places.

And also he advised us to be vigilant and examine the roses that we have, for any symptoms of RRD, if you notice one, best is to get rid of it ASAP, carefully dig the plant out completely, not leaving any roots--it may grow back, already infected-- and put it in a black plastic bag, tie the plastic closed and put the bag in the sun, so the virus will die and then dispose the bag with the dead rose plant.

RRD is not new, but it has spread quickly when mass planting of roses become popular, around the time when Knockout roses are available. The roses are planted close together and it makes the spread easier. The virus seems to like multiflora. So the roses grafted on R. multiflora are considered more susceptible to RRD but no rose is immune.

Best thing that we can do is learning to recognize them and there are lots of excellent articles about them. I just read

http://www.clemson.edu/extensi...

and

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/content...

and I have learned a lot from them. There are many more that I have not read yet. I do not have my own photographs of an RRD afflicted rose bush, and I do not want to 'borrow' and post something copyrighted. But please familiarized yourself with how RRD afflicted rose bushes look and help control the spreading of RRD.

I will post some pics of my line of drift roses when I get a little sun. A few are dieing, some obviously ailing, some have it but not yet weakened the plants. I am still looking for a 2 foot high prickly alternative that pollinators like in order to achieve a little crowd control.

I thought cotoneaster had thorns but now I can't find mention of them. If there were low growing hollies they would be perfect with their prickly leaves.

Prickly Pear is another good one. No one will mess with cactus.

This has been posted several times. I am posting it here, so more people will find it. It is a MUST READ to be able to identify RRD/RRV and its dangers if you love roses.

http://www.rosegeeks.com

@tantefrancine states in her above post after attending a meeting about RRD: "The virus seems to like multiflora. So the roses grafted on R. multiflora are considered more susceptible to RRD but no rose is immune."

1) multiflora is in the lineage of numerous roses. It is my understanding that floribunda's were originally multiflora based.
2) the mites feed on tender new growth
3) If the multiflora is buried and there are no shoots of it around for the mites to inhabit, I don't know how that would make the variety that was selected to plant more susceptible.

@MargyNY: What I wrote was what I understand from the information that Dr. Windham gave at the meeting, it is possible that it was just my own assumption. It is mentioned somewhere that if the grafting is done correctly, there is no difference in preference to the RRV.

Margie ...

You are correct. Roses budded to multiflora rootstock are no more susceptible to RRD than any other rose.

Rootstocks can influence the plant budded to it, but to date there is no evidence that it has impacted either disease susceptibility or disease resistance that I know of ..

I had to add that last qualifyer because I haven't read all of the rose research that has ever been published in the world ..

tantefrancine said:@MargyNY: What I wrote was what I understand from the information that Dr. Windham gave at the meeting, it is possible that it was just my own assumption. It is mentioned somewhere that if the grafting is done correctly, there is no difference in preference to the RRV.

Proper grafting is important so that the rootstock do not sucker. Suckers should be eliminated ASAP. Prevent stress and wounds by avoiding digging and shoveling near the roses. I can't believe how many times I have read to "work" a fertilizer into the ground. I don't cultivate - I layer.
Here is my method:
My routine starting around Thanksgiving consists of hilling up my roses with new top soil (8"), slightly wetting it down, than, when available, some horse manure and top it off with mulch. In the Spring, the mulch is discarded (the overwintering fungus spores are hopefully removed). Using the end of a thin bamboo stick to avoid disturbing any new growth, I gently spread the hilled up top soil outward to form a well. Fertilizer is tossed by hand around the perimeter of the rose followed by compost & new mulch. I call it lasagna gardening (layering).