"In field trials conducted by MDA, âÂÂFlower Carpetâ varieties have proven to be very susceptible, Meidland cultivars, including âÂÂAlbaâ are moderately susceptible and the native species of roses; Rosa setigera, R. virginiana, and R. palustris and the naturalized R. rugosa seem to be very resistant to possibly immune to the disease. There are reports from the landscape and nursery trade in Maryland that other rose cultivars and species affected include, in no particular order: âÂÂKnockoutâ , âÂÂTamoraâÂÂ, âÂÂZephrine Drouhinâ , âÂÂColletteâÂÂ, âÂÂSnowbushâÂÂ, âÂÂKew RamblerâÂÂ, âÂÂNew DawnâÂÂ, âÂÂDaybreakâÂÂ, âÂÂCarmenetta âÂÂ, âÂÂClymenestraâÂÂ, âÂÂAlexander GiraultâÂÂ, âÂÂAmericaâÂÂ, âÂÂWilliam R. SmithâÂÂ, âÂÂZitkalaâÂÂ, âÂÂAmerican PillarâÂÂ, âÂÂSnow DwarfâÂÂ, âÂÂEdmund ProustâÂÂ, âÂÂEasleaâÂÂs Golden RamblerâÂÂ, âÂÂMrs. F.W. FlightâÂÂ, âÂÂEdith BallendenâÂÂ, âÂÂWalsh RamblerâÂÂ, âÂÂMadam Alfred CarriereâÂÂ, and Rosa wichuriana hybrids." Here is a link that might be useful: link for above quote

Another quote from Dr. Amrine in the Q and A link that I gave. "Q: If a rose is symptomatic for RRD, you mentioned pruning out this symptomatic portion of the rose can control the disease. How far below symptomatic growth should the pruning cuts be made? I would remove the symptomatic cane all the way to the crown. But if you only have one cane and it is a graft, I would prune down to one or two leaves above the graft and hope for the best. Rosarians or horticulturists can probably give a better answer." ------------------------------------------ But then in another place he states the following: "Q: Once discovered in a rose garden, what is the recommended treatment/response to hinder the virus from spreading to healthy roses? Remove all symptomatic plants. Valuable plants should be isolated and an attempt made to recover grafts or rooted cuttings from them. If you live in an area with lots of nearby symptomatic multiflora roses, treat with a miticide on a weekly basis from April until late fall, when all growth ceases and leaves fall off." H. Kuska comment: So we appear to have 2 different suggestions in the same Q and A. ????? Here is a link that might be useful: Q and A link given earlier

. Rose rosette disease is a lethal disease of rose that has been seen off and on in the Evansville area for many years. Unfortunately, 2011 appears to be an "on" year. Symptoms of rose rosette disease are highly variable, depending on the species or cultivator of rose affected. Some of the more recognizable symptoms include rapid elongation of new shoots, followed by the development of clusters of small branches (a symptom known as "witches' broom"). Leaves in the witches' broom are small, distorted and often noticeably red in color. Canes often develop excessive growth of unusually soft and pliable red or green thorns, which may stiffen later. Canes also may be noticeably thicker than the parent cane from which they emerged. Flowers may be distorted with fewer petals than normal, and flower color may be abnormal. Infected rose plants often die within one to two years. Rose rosette is thought to be caused by a virus or a virus-like pathogen. It is spread by the eriophyid mite, which is the smallest of all mites commonly found in the U.S. (less than 1/100 of an inch long) and virtually impossible to identify in the garden. The wild multiflora rose is highly susceptible to this disease and, in fact, the virus was used for years as a biological control of this invasive weed. There are no pesticides that will protect a plant from a virus disease. The miticides (insecticides for mites) registered for control of spider mites do not control the eriophyid mites that transmit rose rosette disease. While some researchers have found the insecticide carbaryl (Sevin) works against these mites, it has no effect on the more common spider mite. In fact, Sevin kills off the predators that would keep spider mites under control. Once symptoms are seen in a rose bush, it is safe to assume the entire plant is infected. Therefore, the best course of action is to immediately remove infected plants. Do not put them in the compost pile, or pile them up for later burning/destruction. Bag them and place them in the trash immediately. Destroy all multiflora roses within 100 yards of your rose garden. These wild roses can serve as a source of inoculum. Although the virus doesn't live in the soil, it can survive in any rose roots left behind. I would recommend replanting the bed with anything other than roses, at least for a few years. To prevent infection of new transplants, avoid planting cultivated roses on hilltops or downwind of known multiflora rose plantings. Space plants so that canes and leaves don't touch each other. Eriophyid mites don't have wings and must crawl from plant to plant. Proper spacing makes it more difficult for the mites to move within a planting. For more information on rose disease problems, contact the Purdue Extension Service at 812-435-5287. Larry Caplan is an extension educator-horticulture with the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, Vanderburgh County/Southwest Indiana. You can send email to him at LCaplan@purdue.edu.

And the article is from someone in Yorktown VA. Less than accurate is this: Rose rosette disease, first documented in 1941, is traced to the multiflora rose, which came from Japan in 1866 as a common rootstock for ornamental roses. Unfortunately, it was found that multiflora roses are bad because a single plant can produce a million or more viable seeds; over time, the roses have become invasive weeds with enormous disease problems. Multiflora was first introduced as a garden plant. NOT as a rootstock. Multiflora spread not from rootstock but from the USDA's encouragement of its use as a substitute for barbed wire, as a stabilizer for stream banks, to prevent erosion from strip mining, etc. And the disease problem is a single disease.