Don't give up hope. We will find a way to push down the impact to a point that enables everyone to enjoy their roses. It's only a matter of time. Right now I'm employing a method to see if it works. I'm using Cygon 2E on infected multiflora and blackberry and ornamental roses in the garden. Two days later I cut out infected canes (I wait the two days to ensure the mites death so they don't become airborne when the canes are removed) or dig up totally infected plants. I'm having success in saving the less infected plants and I'm not seeing any reinfection to this point. I will spray Cygon preventatively on the multiflora and blackberry and keep close watch on the ornamentals. I'll keep you posted on results. We will find a way to handle this.....I guarantee it.
Michael

It's not necessarily that the plants came from the wholesaler infected (although that's possible I guess). I've had perfectly healthy roses that have been in the ground for years suddenly succumb to RRD. I don't live in the country, just your normal subdivision, with few roses of any type around me. But since the mites can travel as far as 5 miles from the source of the infection, it would not be unheard of to see them show up at a box store.....Also, a nursery here that is located in the country surrounded by all manner of "untamed wilderness" had a bad case of RRD on many of their roses. I'm sure had I searched I would have found wild multiflora within a close proximity. I told them about the disease and pointed out the strange growth on their roses, but they had never heard of RRD, and didn't want to be bothered to learn or listen. When they told me later (not remembering me from the RRD incident) that any unsold roses were protected over winter in the same greenhouse as the new roses for next year, I never bought another rose from them again. Additonally I let it be known to others not to buy their roses there. RRD is too serious to play games with commercial enterprises that don't or won't listen.

I found about twenty roses with RRD at a local box store about six weeks after their grand opening. I went to the garden manager and had him get the store manager. (It was a Friday afternoon, too late to contact the state inspectors). I explained the situation.
The store manager called for the clean up crew and I watched as all the sick roses were carried out to the dumpster.
The store had RRD sick multiflora on fencelines within three tenths of a mile of the front of the store and blooming roses had been set out for the grand opening...all in front of the garden center.

On Monday I called the state inspectors, and they checked out the greenhouses where the roses had been potted and grown out and the roses remaining there were clean.

This lead to RRD being linked on the Southeastern Ag Inspectors website, where they go for up to date info (the daylily rust links there are also good.)

You have two parts of officialdom you can contact if the store owner doesn't do the right thing:
Your county extension agent ....mostly to warn them, they have no power.'
Your inspector who works for both the state and federal governments who inspects all nurseries (sellers and propagators) and who is responsible for healthy correctly named plants being sold.
Some need to be brought up to speed but most will listen and learn.

And then there are the two separate stories from Nashville and Memphis where probably RRD was seen in nurseries and when the people got enough info to go back and talk to them, both were told that "rosarians" told them to just remove the ugly growth and everything would be fine. And the roses did sell before the worried folks got there.

If you have trouble finding your local state ag inspector, the nurseries should have a certificate from them (and you may be able to get a name that way.)

(And this is why I dislike e-commerce from uninspected growers.)

Michael,
Ann,
Maryl,
Here are the pics of the rose 'Lime Sublime' with possible RRD infection.
Do you think this could be herbicide damage? Freeze damage?

The cane that it's coming from looks completely normal, solid green, no discoloraation.

I was hoping noone had bought it before I got to get a picture of it, and more so that noone would catch me taking pics and throw me out on my ear.

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Thank you all for the encouragement and information. Based on your analysis of the pics I will do what I can to inform the proper agencies if need be.
Thank You,
Rob:)

That's not typical RRD, nor is it normal growth.
That it's only on one cane on a rose in a pot is really bothersome.
Take the pix to your extension agent and ask him to contact the state (who may have some experience by now.) If they hesitate, tell them about the Missouri Botanical Garden staff who are used to dealing with RRD diagnoses in your part of the world. And they'll answer questions. Morton Arboreteum in Chicago also has experience.

For herbicide spray drift to hit one stem in a mass of roses for sale doesn't make sense.

If I were trying to sell that rose, I'd set it aside, far from the roses, and watch what happens. If it's RRD, it will get worse within a month or two. If it's somehow herbicide, it will look the same on new growth that comes from that part of the plant.