Hello, everyone!
I was wondering if anyone has ever seen anything like this.
In all my years of growing roses, I have never seen stunted leaves with bright pink edges, and distorted flowers. This is occurring on both my plants of Sharifa Asma.
The only thing I can think of is that this happened after an application of chelated iron, or maybe because of kelp. Maybe I used too much?
I would appreciate it if someone can take a look and tell me why this is happening and what can be done to reverse it.

Could be RRD but it doesn't quite look like that. Is there anyway they were exposed to some herbicide?

That's STRANGE!!

No herbicide.
I, too, thought of RRD, but as you said, it doesn't quite match. In addition, all 8 other roses growing nearby look normal. I have two Sharifa Asma plants, and both are exhibiting strange growth.
First and last picture are of the same plant.

Chili Thrip damage.

It looks like Chili Thrips to me. I put up with it when I lived in FL.

Since they are growing in pots, I wonder whether they were also over medicated.

Welcome to the rose forum. First of all, you are zone 9--where do you live? What have your temperatures been lately? How old is your plant and how long have you had it in that size of a pot? What is the diameter of that pot? Did you use a spray on your rose and if so, (e.g., was the kelp in spray form?) what time of day did you spray?

Sorry for all the questions, but it will help to know what is going on with your plant.

Thank you for the replies and the welcome! I used to be on Gardenweb around 2000, when I grew over 150 bushes in the ground, zone 7b.
Wow, that seems like ages ago!
Now I'm in Central Florida. I don't want to grow roses in the ground here, for a variety of reasons. The temps have been constantly in the 90s.
I have 11 bushes in grow bags, so the roots are air pruned and don't get too hot. Wicker baskets cover the hideous black bags. I have them on rolling plant stands so I can move them out of the harsh sun, and out of storms, as needed.
Diameter of bag is 24 inches.
Most are own root roses from Heirloom, and are 2 years old. Some are older, locally purchased hybrid teas. I do treat for insects and fungal disease and none of them have, or ever had, any thrips. The only thing I have had to constantly fight has been spider mites, but regular sprayings with water and the Bug Blaster have taken care of this.
The Sharifas arrived as little more than rooted cuttings. They were growing and blooming very well for over a year, when I decided that everyone needed a little bit of iron and some kelp. The chelated iron went to the root zone, the kelp was sprayed on a cooler day, after sunset.
The Sharifas were the only ones that really hated this treatment. It was the only new thing I did before they started growing funky leaves and bad, off-color flowers.
I did cut off the old growth, but new growth came back the same way. I fear I have poisoned the soil, and I wonder how to go about rectifying that without destroying the root system.
The other 9 are doing very well. Constant attention keeps them happy, and although they will never grow as large as they get when in the ground, I have a steady supply of flowers to cut and bring inside.

Here's a picture of Double Delight, growing very nicely, and one of my latest little harvests: Firefighter, Sheer Bliss, and Double Delight.

Such a pretty bouquet!

Well, it sounds like everything you did, you did correctly. I was asking about the spraying (when you did it), because that can cause a burn on the leaves. However, it was not done during the day, so I doubt that was it, even though I am still wondering.... I also doubt that you have "poisoned" the potting mix you have your plants in.

I have been through about a 100 pictures to see if I could ID what is going on and came up with nothing, including if the type of iron you used might have caused this.

Sharifa can be a beautiful rose, however, she is not the greatest growing rose for those of us in hotter weather. I live where it gets hotter than Hades in the summer (actually late spring and early fall can be included in on that statement as well). During the summer, I don't push my roses to bloom at all. I don't feed them. I watch for mites and any other bugs that may come and infest them. I would just leave Sharifa alone for the time being. She really resents the summer time and tends to look awful in the process. Just water her as you do the rest of your plants (you might want to make sure that saucer looking thing on the bottom is not causing the roots to not drain well). I would give her some TLC out of the worst of the sun during the day and see if she improves.

I too love this rose. Against my better judgement, I purchased her a second time (had to shovel prune her the first time due to a very persistent Dr. Huey). She is on trial. While her flowers are gorgeous, she does not like my growing conditions all that much. I find the similar looking Mary Magdalene to do much better for me than Sharifa.

I hope Sharifa improves for you. When she is good, she is very, very good but when conditions are bad.....

Thank you for taking the time to post.
I used Maxicrop. Website won't let me post a link.
Yes, 95 degrees is not ideal for any rose, let alone an English one.
As for the plant dollies, they have a super large hole at the bottom, so the roses don't get wet feet.
I also grow Munstead Wood, who isn't too happy but isn't putting out funky, long, hot pink foliage. I cut back the Sharifas and will keep an eye on them. Would hate to have to shovel prune and start from scratch.
Here is a delightful little bouquet from April of last year.


PS- If you want a hybrid tea that doesn't mind the heat and smells fabulous, I highly recommend Firefighter. When no one is blooming, he always has a little something for me.

Thanks for the tip RoseLady. Your bouquet is beautiful!

Thank you for the tip! I will give you a tip back! Look for established rose breeders in your area where you live. They tend to grow roses that will do well in your climate. I am lucky enough to have a couple that I can rely on where I know the roses coming from them will do well in my hot, hot climate.

I doubt it would be the kelp. That's pretty harmless organics. If it is the iron the best thing I can think of is to water. water. water and try and flush it as much as possible from the soil. I would not fertilize anymore until I saw new normal growth again.

I was out in my garden yesterday and looking at my Sharifa Asma plant. Lo and behold, these are some pictures I took of new growth on it. I knew I had seen something similar to your pictures you posted.




My Borderer was also producing the same thing, just not with new red leaf growth (just green)


I was curious about their heritage and both roses have China and Tea roses in their background. Makes me wonder if this is something that is part of their heritage since they have both of those roses in common as ancestors. Again, of course, it just could be the relentless heat we are having here. Who knows? But I thought I would share.