Earliest symptoms of Rose Rosette Disease on Cornelia

14 years ago

Hello rose lovers,

Here's hoping you don't encounter this disease at all. But if you want to know about an early symptom on Cornelia--just in case--look for a sudden increase in thorns on what was previously a rose low in thorns. Nothing like the tiny velcro-like thorns covering the entire surface of the cane near the tips that is so often seen on many roses showing full-blown symptoms. Just notice if your Cornelia shows a sudden large increase--a doubling, tripling, or quadrupling of normal-looking thorns, except for the color on some of them. (This increase in thorns was accompanied here by some of the thorns becoming black too, on a rose that had never had any of its few thorns colored black.)

This symptom likely happened initially on just one cane, though I failed to notice it until several different canes were involved. That was last fall. This spring, I see some reddened canes with witches' brooms now.

If you suddenly notice a large increase in thorns on any Cornelia cane, especially if it also has also suddenly acquired black thorns, I'd suggest that you cut out the cane right away, all the way down to the ground level. You might be able to save the plant by not waiting around until the witches' broom appears. And you might be able to save some surrounding plants too. I've lost a total of five roses thus far by not acting on my instincts that RRD was probably developing on this rose last fall.

Best wishes,

Mary

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Comments (11)

buford
14 years ago
I am sorry mary. I hurts to lose our roses like that. I am vigilant in checking for RRD symptoms. The problem is that many times there are things that happen that appear bad but aren't. So you shouldn't beat yourself up so much.
Zyperiris
14 years ago
Hum..We don't have RRD here in the PNW right? I had some very thick canes show up on a few of my roses..with black thorns!
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No. Dependence on that list may do harm. "Instantaneously recognizable" can't depend on those symptoms because roses react differently to RRv and symptoms change with time and exposure to (having the disesase in, and presumed titre increase) the disease. The stems and leaves are not always bright red, nor do they stay red/purple in all cultivars if they start out red. Growth may be extremely fast. Excessive thorns are not present on all infected cultivars, nor are they present on all stems. And on and on. It's a darned shame that the state extension people don't go to gardens in their own states and report what is IN their states. At one time, the extension people all reported that RRD wasn't a problem for cultivated roses. Then there was a comment unsupported by any published, juried paper, that RRD was also in the fruit trees. That, too, dropped after a year or two.
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Here's my comment: The "Dirt Doctor", Howard Garrett, who wrote and self-published that specious article, is selling a product, and the article is a vehicle for the sale of the product. I quote the section in which he prescribes his "treatment" for RRD: "Next, 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)." Options 2 and 3 are variations on the same theme, all involve the reader purchasing his "Garrett Juice Plus". Now, I am not suggesting that his organic fertilizer isn't useful in the same ways most nutrient rich concoctions are, but I seriously doubt this stuff has any properties that can "cure" RRD! Here's what's in it: "compost tea, apple cider vinegar, molasses and seaweed has been made even more powerful with the addition of hydrolyzed fish." I didn't see a virucide listed in that formula. As Henry suggested, I expect if anything was indeed "cured", it might have been herbicide damage, but not RRD. Honestly. I would have preferred that these folks submit samples of the plant to the local Ag Agent to determine the actual cause of the deformity before assuming, let alone treating, anything! Garrett is just shilling for his merch!
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Destroy it as fast as you can. Weather its herbicide or rrd the damage is extensive. It looks like rrd to me and at this point it is systemic and can not be saved. Even if it where herbicide it looks too far gone to be worth trying. I'm very sorry about your rose. Would you mind letting us know what state or country you are in?
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york_rose
14 years ago
zyperiris, here's anntn6b's web page covering rose rosette disease and its symptoms.
holleygarden Zone 8, East Texas
14 years ago
Mary - this is a horrible disease and I'm sorry you have lost 5 roses due to it. However, I think you were right to be vigilant in waiting and watching, and not jump to conclusions. I hope this will be the end of your problems with this disease.
olga_6b
14 years ago
I am sorry, Mary. i understand. I just yesterday discovered RRD on my Constance Spry. This spring is bad for me, two weeks ago I had to remove my monster 12x12 Darlow's Enigma, it got RRD too.

Olga
carolinamary
Original Author
14 years ago
Zyperiris, I spent some searching time trying to find an updated map for places where RRD has been reported. The most recent map I could find was one from 2002, which shows NO reports of the disease in the entire state of North Carolina. But it can spread rapidly, apparently; someone maybe 70 miles to the west of us says that he has been dealing with the problem for _years_ now.

I hope a part of that spread isn't that something intentional has been done to try to spray the invasive multiflora roses here (or anywhere, for that matter) with the infected mites. I do know that the multiflora rose is considered invasive here. (That spread-a-deadly-disease-you-can't-control approach strikes me as making about as much sense as spraying bubonic plague to kill measles.)

On that 2002 map I did notice a few locations in California for RRD. It isn't impossible that it would have spread some in the west since then. I'd certainly keep a close eye on that rose if it were mine.

Best wishes,
Mary
carolinamary
Original Author
14 years ago
Zyperiris, I should have emphasized the thorniness aspect of the symptoms. I'd do nothing more than watch carefully if I saw black thorns suddenly appear. Perhaps they are simply a symptom of the rose experiencing some stress from any one of many potential problems, not necessarily RRD? Anyway, it's only if the rose were to suddenly become surprisingly thorny at the same time that I'd act. The extra thorniness doesn't have to be spread equally over the length of a cane. The worst, most noticeable degree of the sudden unusual thorniness tended to fall closer toward the middle of the cane than evenly throughout. Though I saw some increase throughout on all or most all the canes, in some sections there was a thorn every half or quarter of an inch for a few inches.

Best wishes,
Mary
Zyperiris
14 years ago
Yah..I looked at the photo's and I don't have this
jim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
14 years ago
Sorry to hear this news Mary! Best Wishes!
carolinamary
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you all so much for your good wishes and sympathy. It's a tough loss, but one made better by your kind words. Plants, no matter how much we love them, are still just plants; it's the kindness of friends and strangers that is truly the irreplaceable thing in life.

Zyperiris, it's good to hear your rose doesn't have RRD.

Olga, I'm sorry about your Constance Spry and Darlow's Enigma, two wonderful roses that would be so hard to lose. I hope you caught the problem in time. Fingers crossed for us both on that!

Best wishes,
Mary
olga_6b
14 years ago
Mary,
Thanks. I already SPed DE and probably will do the same with CS. I don't want to take chances with RRD. I loose roses every year because of it.
Olga

Earliest symptoms of Rose Rosette Disease on Cornelia

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Earliest symptoms of Rose Rosette Disease on Cornelia

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