So there is no disease resistant rose anymore. Lol.

I don't know whether there ever was a completely disease-resistant rose. I have never run into one in more than 40 years of gardening. Many of the Kordes roses, most of Ping Lim's roses, and some of Ralph Moore's roses come close, but even they get some black spot in my garden. I have one Knock Out rose and it's just as vulnerable to black spot as any other rose in my garden. As for the OGR's, they not only suffer from black spot, but also display symptoms of rust and mildew.

I have had such a nightmare removing roses the past two years. I'm not planting anymore until they make rose rosette resistant varieties. I have three more to rip out. It's so much effort. I don't think any plant is worth this much trouble.

How discouraging! I don't wonder that you are turned off of roses. I am feeling lucky that rose rosette has not infected our area - yet...

I have three knockout roses in the front yard (which gets only partial sun). They perform beautifully despite inadequate sun. I prune them once in a blue moon. The embarrassing thing is, I get compliments on them.

I think some people were suggesting that Knock Out Roses were more susceptible to RRD, but they are not. They are often planted in landscapes too close together and the mites jump from one to another. Also you should prune them back in the winter because the mites can over winter in the canes.

@reem I found mine blooming in the shade beautifully. I did move it to a sunnier spot to make room for a new flower bed.

@virginiarose said:

>> Also you should prune them back in the winter because the mites can over winter in the canes.

Let me stress that I am a total ignoramus when it comes to roses.
And I agree 100% with you that mites are encouraged to spread if plants are too close together.

But I happen to have recently looked at the Knockout Rose vendor's website, (Star® /Conard-Pyle), and it urged pruning them in the spring, not the winter or fall.

Is this a matter of taste, or something specific to KO Roses, or would you say they're wrong?
Or maybe a cold-climate thing vs. warm-climate thing?
Or did you mean specifically to prune extra-early in order to defeat mites that would otherwise have spread in early spring?

http://www.starrosesandplants....

"Prune your rose bush in early spring, never in the fall and never in the winter."

Also, see the cutesy video at 15-25 seconds and 40-60 seconds. That made it clear that he urges pruning when the new growth is 1/4" to 1/2" long. (That surprised me, I thought that pruning should usually be done while plants were dormant.)

I noticed that he (Steve Hutton) urged throwing away the book and ignoring all usual advice about pruning roses, when considering pruning a Knockout. It usually makes me wonder when someone says to ignore everyone else because "they're all wrong".

I know nothing, I'm just asking.

>>>Is this a matter of taste, or something specific to KO Roses, or would you say they're wrong?

I think it was for all of them to keep the mites from over-wintering in the canes. I have always cut mine back in winter but I only have the KO's now and I have not been doing them but I think I should just encase some mites get in there, don't you think that is a good idea? It's about disease control.

>>>I thought that pruning should usually be done while plants were dormant.)
Me too, I always pruned them in the winter when they were dormant. But when I got the KO roses I heard they did not need to be deadheaded or pruned. I have never pruned them except for when I needed to move one, I figured the less thorns the better.

I will prune them this winter just for disease control, to prevent mites from over-wintering. I do not want to, to me it is a set back for the shrub. (KO) It will not bloom as good in the spring, maybe that is why Steve Hutton discouraged it.

OK, thanks. None of my few roses are near each other, and I only heard of RRD here, so I won't worry too much yet.

The only two non-KO roses I have were planted by a prior owner - in DEEP shade and surrounded by tall shrubs that block any possible breeze. I think they had every possible rose disease except RRD. Neither one was doing well, and one died outright. The other is mostly black and dieing sticks with just a few black-and-green leaves, but it manages to put out a few HUGE, very fragrant blooms each year.

I might try to move it, but I would have to cut a LOT of shrub and tree roots to do that.

>> But when I got the KO roses I heard they did not need to be deadheaded or pruned

I "let mine go" in a deep bed that i had improved more than most, and it got huge. Huge and happy.

I just started pruning it last fall when I thought I was going to transplant. Instead we got my friend three of the fully-double cherry RADtko KOs. I can't see that the pruning did it any harm or good WRT blooming, but it isn't as dense and I took away the very skinny "limbs" right at ground level.

>>I "let mine go" in a deep bed that i had improved more than most, and it got huge. Huge and happy.

These are probably the only rose shrubs that actually look better if you do not prune them. LOL.

In this part of the country nothing will prevent rose rosette. It spreads easily. It even attacked a rose in my back yard with no other roses near it. Knockout Roses are very prone to getting the disease because every single one in my yard caught it. The only rose that didn't catch it was a David Austin rose. I'm going to go ahead and get rid of it too though.

Did you have them tested? Not all 'Witches Broom' is caused by RD. Cutting them back in the winter is very effective because the mites live in the upper portion of the leaf axils.
Just because everyone in YOUR yard got it does not mean it is more prone. The experts already said they are NOT more prone.
Hard pruning in winter is now considered good agricultural practice and it will prevent it. Anyone who loves roses is not going to accept this as a death sentence.

quote from greenhouse grower.com:

“Good cultural practices are essential and will go a long way in reducing the incidence of this disease,” Dobres says. “The most practical recommendation is for both growers and landscapers to do a heavy prune of dormant ornamental roses during late winter just before new growth appears. If growers and landscapers remove the upper portion of ornamental roses where eriophyid mites can be found in the leaf axils, it will significantly reduce the disease pressure on the plants.”

http://www.greenhousegrower.co...

I did prune them. It didn't work.

Well I guess it's not 100%, but it is still a good cultural practice as long as these mites are around. Do you do it every year, because we just found out about it. If you love roses you must do something right? It's worth a try. I do not pay a lot for roses so if I see anything weird I will just set them on fire. LOL.

Good cultural method of dealing with rose problems, 'Set them on fire". I can see people googling this now, what a surprise they are in for.

Nothing will help much if you have near neighbors who ignore the disease on their plants.

We can set theirs on fire too!

Accidentally, of course!

When you confuse Neem Oil with keroseene.

;-)

It could happen!!

Jumping in here....I have planted three Knock Out Roses and never had them come back after one Minnesota winter, and they are supposedly rated for zone 4. I have one Flower Carpet coral rose, that is rated zone 5, that I have had on an exposed northwest corner of my yard for 7 years - I don't cover it for the winter except to mound some compost in the middle. Always get some cane dieback, but it bounces back bigger and better every year. It blooms almost until it shows - the color gets darker as the weather gets colder. Never had a disease problem with it whatsover. I can't find them around here anymore because they are supposedly not hardy....ha. If I want anymore I will have to find them online or try to propagate mine. The other rose that works pretty well here is Nearly Wild.