Good afternoon,

I am hoping you can help me!

I live in Monroe, NC, just outside of Charlotte. Below are pictures of a rose bush that seems to have a genetic mutation. Last summer it had a small section of growth that was mutated, compact and profuse. The flowers that were present were the same. I trimmed it back in early spring, and all new growth seems to have the same problem this spring! Could you help me figure out what is wrong with this rose? Is there anything I can do about it, and is it a disease that the roses next to it could get?

Thank you for any help you can give....
Sincerely,
Judy Meister

Looks like it could be RRD (Rose Rosette Disease), yet I don't see "excessive thorniness", a hallmark of it. Others will offer their opinions, better than mine. https://www.google.com/search?...

Thank you, Pirl! After going to the Google site you posted, I think that's what it is! Now I need to see if there is a cure or how to treat it.....

One of the many rose pro's will come along to advise, but from what I've read, there is no cure.

@Zuzu
@Calif_Sue
@Calsurf73

Unfortunately you should remove an RRD-infected rose from your garden, because the mites that carry the RRD virus can spread to your other roses. Gently cut the canes off and remove the base and roots from the ground, all the while being careful not to disperse the mites on the canes and leaves (you don't want to accidentally knock them off and spread them). Place it all in a plastic bag, seal it and dispose of it. You can spray the area with a miticide as well.

Hi Mike, I found this on a site that seemed like I could trust it. What are your thoughts on below?

Recently, Howard Garrett, a famous Dallas radio show host, landscape architect and organic garden guru instructed one of his listeners try the following all-organic approach to treating her infected roses. Click here to see the full story along with results.
Cut away the diseased stems and clean the tool blades immediately using hydrogen peroxide (never bleach).
Apply The Sick Tree Treatment throughout all the rose beds.
Choose one of the following spray formulas:
To 1 gallon of spray with Garrett Juice Plus add 8 ounces of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (available at drug and grocery stores).
To Garrett Juice Plus spray add 2 ounces of orange oil.
To Garrett JuicePlus spray add 1 tablespoon of Bio Wash.
Spray the plants thoroughly.
Again, please note that the only tried and true method proven to rid your yard of Rose Rosette disease is the total removal and proper disposal of infected roses.

. . . I just so love 'experts' who advise you to use a product they sell . . .

The best advice in that whole thing is:
" . . . Again, please note that the only tried and true method proven to rid your yard of Rose Rosette disease is the total removal and proper disposal of infected roses."

Please dig the rose up and dispose of it in the manner Mike suggests.

OH -- And please follow the hairspray suggestion from Vaporvac.
If you don't have hairspray (I sure don't) go buy some cheap really strong-hold spray, and use that.

Your rose is too far progressed in its disease to save. Had you just noticed that growth within the past couple of days before it traveled down to the root, there might have been a chance, but this has been infected since last year. Try spraying with hairspray to immobilize the mites and covering the whole thing with a plastic bag before cutting off at the base.
The only other possibility is that this weird growth is the result of herbicide drift which can persist in a plant for quite a while. Late frost can also do similar, but not in your case since this started last year. I would recommend removal if your unsure.

To Vaporvac:
Thank you for your reply. It is not all the way down to the roots at all, and is in fact only at the ends of about 4 branches. It's also not red growth as it says Rose Rosette has. I think before giving up on it, I will completely prune the affected branches with sanitized pruners and find some sort of miticide, not sure what exactly yet. The only thing I have ever used on these roses was last year, and it was a powder to kill aphids. Two other roses are right next to it and have been totally unaffected! I will proceed, and post how all goes!

If you use Howard Garrett's procedure, be sure that you only do it on odd-numbered Tuesdays in the second half of the month if the moon is full, standing on your left foot and reciting Walt Whitman poetry, wearing a blue colored shirt. It's all part of the miracle cure, but you have to do it exactly right.



Seriously... I understand the temptation to want to save the rose, and you might successfully do it. If the virus has spread throughout the plant (regardless of whether the mites are still there or not), it's systemically infected. On the other hand, a young infection may only affect one or a few canes; there's not much way to know for sure (but your case looks pretty advanced). Think about the risk/benefit before you decide for certain... you may risk the other roses in an effort to save this one. Consider carefully, and let us know how it goes. We're rooting for you either way.

To Mike:
I'll have to take a picture of me reenacting your treatment!! : D Maybe I should dowse it with remdesivir?

I just pruned the dickens out of the affected rose. It actually had more canes involved than I thought...not good. I'm going to wait a week or so and see if any new growth appears, and if so, what it looks like. It might actually just take that long to come to terms with removing it, too.....I'll see how it goes and post any improvements/regressions here.

Thanks for all input!

Do you know the name of this rose? Your best bet is to get rid of it and save your other roses and we can help you locate a replacement for it.

At seilMI:
It is a type called a ground cover rose and they are very resilient to black spot and a lot of other problems we get here in NC with roses. If you have any ideas for a replacement let me know, but I think I'm going to see how the other two beside it fare before doing anything. I read that if you plant another rose in the same place, it could get Rose Rosetta disease as well : /

There are many ground cover roses available in many colors.

I don't know where you are getting your information from but a lot of it is hog wash. We deal with this kind of thing all the time here. We love and grow MANY thousands of roses and from every state and many countries. There are people here who have decades of experience. Please listen to us. The rose is not worth saving!

If the virus-carrying mites are still present in the soil where an RRD infected rose was removed, and a replacement rose is placed in the same spot, then yes, I think the mites could infect the new rose.

Whether or not you replace the rose, you may want to consider using a miticide. However, some miticides known to control spider mites do not necessarily control eriophyid mites that transmit RRD. Some of the miticides that are registered for controling both eriophyid and spider mites include:

Avid
Talstar (bifentrhin)
Sevin (carbaryl)
Thionex and Phaser (endosulfan)
Petroleum-based horticultural oils (don't apply during high temperatures)