Buford's photos could both be herbicide damage. At present there is not a simple field test to determine if a rose has RRV or does not have RRV. Excessive thorns is thought to be a good indicator of RRV infection but lack of excessive thorns does not rule out RRV. Buford's photos do not show excessive thorns, and the one that he feels is RRV is similar to one posted for herbicide damage by Plant Pathology Department Extension Service at the University of Arkansas. http://plantpathology.uark.edu/Number5-2009.pdf From Ann Peck's web book: "There are no laboratory tests to confirm a diagnosis of RRD; graft transmission tests can confirm the disease when the recipient plant (R. multiflora) develops RRD. A lack of transmission does not prove lack of the disease, just lack of transmission. Dr. Jim Amrine (personnal communication) suggests that graft transmission tests are more often successful in spring than in other seasons. This, to me, corresponds to the time that multiflora puts on most of its new growth (when its growth isn't affected by RRD)." -------------------------------- H. Kuska comment: Until a simple lab test is developed, we simply do not know from a single field examination in some/many cases. There are too many variables: type of herbicide, concentration of herbicide, rose variety, weather, etc. to say for certain from a single observarion in all cases this plant definitely has RRV, this one definitely has herbicide damage. Here is a link that might be useful: Ann Peck's chapter Recognizing Rose Rosette

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.

An argument can be made that any ornamental prunus is worth consideration but even Dirr acknowledges that "Prunus as a group is beset with insect and disease problems and perhaps should not be looked upon as long term garden investments" and he goes on to say that some species can be expected to live for "30-50 years" - not a very long time in tree terms - while others "may decline in 3 to 10 years." He continues by stating that Prunus sargentii "is one of the most beautiful cherries in flower but does not appear to relish zone 7 and 8 heat" and is "not reliable in Minnesota".

I am SOOOO sorry to hear. RRD was one of my concerns that sorta kept me growing roses years back Right now, I think I might have boxwood blight. Took some cuttings for analysis to get confirmation. Sadface on , as these boxwoods I have nurtured since they 3G sized to full grown....and they grow like a measly few inches per year at most. I hate the diseases we speak about cause it's not a single plant virus/disease. It can setback your hardscape by wiping out X Y Z