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Avatar for JennyGardener
Aug 28, 2020 6:51 AM CST
Thread OP
Winthrop, Massachusetts
I am a beginner gardener and decided that knockout roses would be a low maintenence addition to my first garden. I have just learned about Rose Rosette Disease and was horrified! What I naively thought was part of my roses natural growth appears to be this insidious disease. I have two bushes which both have the same appearance (hence why I thought this was a natural part of the plant). Please help!



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Avatar for porkpal
Aug 28, 2020 11:51 AM CST
Name: Porkpal
Richmond, TX (Zone 9a)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member Keeper of Poultry I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Dog Lover Keeps Horses
Roses Plant Identifier Farmer Raises cows Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2
You were right the first time; that is normal healthy new growth. Definitely no rose rosette disease.
Avatar for luis_pr
Aug 28, 2020 12:54 PM CST
Name: Luis
Hurst, TX, U.S.A. (Zone 8a)
Azaleas Salvias Roses Plumerias Region: Northeast US Region: New Hampshire
Hydrangeas Hibiscus Region: Georgia Region: Florida Dog Lover Region: Texas
Looks just fine. RRD creates a very large amount of unusual growth near the ends of branches/canes. The color you see is common on new growth and should not be used by itself to determine if you have RRD.

https://roserosette.org/
Last edited by luis_pr Aug 28, 2020 1:11 PM Icon for preview
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Aug 28, 2020 2:09 PM CST
Coastal Southern California (Zone 13a)
This is lovely, healthy new growth.

There are many roses whose new foliage is a lovely red color. It's just part of the beauty of roses.
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Avatar for JennyGardener
Aug 28, 2020 2:19 PM CST
Thread OP
Winthrop, Massachusetts
luis_pr said:Looks just fine. RRD creates a very large amount of unusual growth near the ends of branches/canes. The color you see is common on new growth and should not be used by itself to determine if you have RRD.


Thank you so much! Hurray!
Last edited by Calif_Sue Aug 30, 2020 6:48 PM Icon for preview
Avatar for JennyGardener
Aug 28, 2020 2:21 PM CST
Thread OP
Winthrop, Massachusetts
Thank you so much for your replies! I am so relieved!! Thank You!
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Aug 28, 2020 2:27 PM CST
Name: David Tillyer
New York City (Zone 7b)
I looked at the picture and read that it had rose rosette disease and then I thought "OMG
do I have a disease on 50 percent of my roses?" I didn't think so, but I'm very glad to have that confirmed by the learned rosarians on this list. Phew!
Avatar for JennyGardener
Aug 29, 2020 2:05 AM CST
Thread OP
Winthrop, Massachusetts
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Aug 29, 2020 1:59 PM CST
Name: seil
St Clair Shores, MI (Zone 6a)
Garden Photography Region: Michigan Roses
Your roses look healthy and happy and well cared for! Watch those leaves as they mature now and you will see that as they grow out they will slowly become green. It is confusing because normal growth on a LOT of roses is a deep red color. If you don't know that it can be scary.

RRD growth will look very abnormal and distorted. The leaves will be a kind of odd cherry red color and are usually very thin and elongated and will be clustered sort of like a feather tuft at the ends of the canes. That's called witches broom. Other symptoms are EXTREME thorniness, like the bristles on a caterpillar. And those thorns generally stay very soft and never harden up to become prickly. Also you will see thicker canes growing out of thinner canes. If you look at your bush you will see that as it branches upward at each junction the newest cane is slightly thinner than the older one. On RRD infected plants it does the opposite. A quarter inch cane can have a half inch cane coming out of it. As I said, the growth will look much more abnormal usually.

And to throw another wrench into the mix, RoundUp or any herbicide spray will often mimic RRD growth. So it is important to know if anyone in your vicinity is spraying with herbicides. Even a house or two away the over spray can drift a long distance in the air currents and come in contact with your roses. My neighbor sprayed behind his garage for poison ivy and destroyed a few of my roses (along with several other plants I had) a good 100 feet away because they were down wind.
Avatar for JennyGardener
Aug 30, 2020 9:46 PM CST
Thread OP
Winthrop, Massachusetts
Thanks so much, all of your info has been very helpful and I am very happy to hear that my roses look happy & healthy! I hope I am able to keep them that way for a long time! Crossing Fingers! Thank You!
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