Two of us spent almost 3 hours yesterday cutting multiflora canes then painting them with RoundUp. We are probably only a third of the way done in getting to everything I'd like to remove. A handful of the bushes deep in the fence line had canes 3"-4" in diameter so we had to use a hand saw instead of lopers for those. We probably cut down 40-50 bushes and maybe all but one or two were diseased. I'm afraid there wouldn't be enough WiltPruf in the state of TN to supply all I would need for this job! ;-) Nor would I want to spray (or pay for!) that much RoundUp. The best news is that the acre or so I did last year with this method still looks free of multiflora. Even without spraying to entrap the mites I'm thinking I'm better off than just leaving it all growing. I've got my helper coming back in a few days for another round. I'll try to get some pictures to post. Thank you everybody!

If this is herbicide damage, it doesn't have to have been caused by Round-up. A broadleaf weed killer (like Weed n Feed) will damage roses. This definitely looks like the symptoms of a plant trying to recover from some sort of herbicide. I've seen the same type of growth on honeysuckle and blackberry brambles that I've sprayed with Round-up. Don't use the vinegar again if it's near your roses. It may not have caused this damage, but it will definitely hurt more than the grass you want to kill. The best thing I've found to kill Bermuda is Grass B Gon by Ortho -- also sold in concentrate as Ornamec, if you have a bigger job than can be taken care of with a premix in a squirt bottle. It's a selective, grass-only herbicide, that's labeled for use around roses. It can take a week or more to work, and the grass has to be actively growing at the time, but it is safe to use around your roses. Now that the wind had died down here today, I'll be out spraying some in my own roses beds today. Connie

I use hort oil frequently because it is so darn effective and lingers on as Hobby said. I alternate between mixing in a bit of pyrethrin and neem oil so I do not end up with some super resistant variety of a pest. Actually, my arsenal consists of soap, alcohol, neem, pyrethrin and hort oil. I just try to use a different concoction to give pests a living hell. To keep my wife happy I do add a drop or two of some fragrance usually plumeria otherwise it does stink up. I still do get a plant here and there with pests but way under control. The only downside of hort oil is the mess from the over-spray. I hang up plastic drop cloths and tarp on the floor.

Wow that is much more encouraging news than I'd suspected! Thank you so much for chiming in Ann and reassuring me on most of these roses! None of your messages were "dig this rose out immediately" so at least I get to stall for a while! I'm glad to hear some of these bizarre foliage symptoms can have causes other than RRD. We definitely had a sudden burst of extremely hot weather in early June after a cool wet May (like going from 60's to 90's for several weeks nonstop) so that could explain some of the odd growth patterns. The chlorosis isn't something I'd normally be that concerned about so if there's not any pattern of explanation for RRD, I'll let it ride. You are absolutely right that we never get rust around here except maybe in late fall, so I have no idea it could look any different than the "cheetos" dusting I've seen on photos. Again, it's a relief to have that foliage explained by something that around here at least is temporary. For Sweet Vivien, I'll let you know if she ever gets those particular canes longer than 6" and post some pictures. She's a short rose at best and is at present only 18" tall tops, so I can't tell what her canes would look like with 6" on them. For Darlow's Enigma, I could try to tell you what the sexual parts of his blooms look like, but I'm not sure I can identify the sexual parts of most mammals much less plants. I can try taking some more pictures of the suspect growth from a top angle and hopefully that will capture the parts in question. I'll definitely keep my eyes out for rogue RRD sprigs from roots nearby. One of my neighbors had a tiny sprig from the ground that looks like RRD, so I'll go dig that out for her. The tenacious roots of Dr. Huey make it not surprising that other rose growth could be lasting beyond the original bush. Rifls, I'm glad that Garden Delight is doing so well for you! I love that rose bush, and mine is particularly robust being from Palatine. Mine is incredibly hardy and makes a good pair with Firebird Citiscape. JC_7a_MiddleTN I am grateful that you posted with an indication that those hyperthorny canes might be normal for Inspiration!! It might make the equally hyperthorny menace of Cape Diamond less troublesome too since both are canes that don't have a finger's distance of space without lethal thorns on them. If they're potentially OK I'll leave them be until I see more signs of trouble. I'll probably post a few more pictures of roses that worry me, but I'm grateful that the odd signs I've seen so far aren't things to immediately worry about yet. I'll also post some photos of Typhoid Robin from last fall to demonstrate that I can indeed identify RRD when it's obvious :(. Thanks so much for your input! This was a lovely birthday present of good news Cynthia