Crikey!

That's not something I wanted to hear.

Jeri

Can you post some pictures? Occasionally strange growth gets misdiagnosed as RRD. With a pic, our experienced posters might determine it is some fixable problem instead.

I'm trying to be optimistic for your sake.

Kate

You're not supposed to have RRD in cultivated roses in the west coast.
Please contact Dr. Fred Crowe (link below) because he's in your part of the country and had extensive experience with RRD when he was working in Kansas City. (One of the early RRD papers is his from that time.)
He's a good person and is willing to help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Crowe

Herbicide damage mimics RRD. Is it possible it could be that instead? Even if you have not sprayed maybe a neighbor did. The spray can drift a long way on even a light breeze. I had this happen a few years ago when a neighbor used RoundUp to take care of some poison ivy in his yard. I had just heard about RRD and of course that was my first thougt when I had a cane similar to what you describe show up on my Hot Cocoa. With further investigation and the help of a CR from ARS we discovered what had happened. On the one hand I was glad that my neighbor got rid of the poison ivy, on the other I wish he'd done it on a less breezy day. He knows now to notify me when he's going to do that stuff so I can protect my roses. I cut the effected cane off to the ground and although it was sickly for the rest of the season Hot Cocoa made a full recovery the following spring.

Seil - My neighbor is not much of a gardener and has not sprayed any herbicide. Also, this rose was near my Bonica and Braveheart and neither of them shows similar effect. I've sent an email to my local ARS Chapter and one to Dr. Crowe, so I'm hoping that they will offer some info. and advice about what my next step should be. I wish that this was herbicide burn.

One website said that if you catch the virus early and remove any infected canes that there is a chance that the plant will live. Others say that it is 100% fatal. I don't know if I want to risk it. Thanks for your help. CJ

Your local ARS chapter may not have experience. Unless a member is from the east Coast, and has had it in his/her garden.
The danger with calling it herbicide drift is ....if it isn't....it may move to other plants in the garden before the real diagnosis is known.
That's the reason I hope Fred Crowe can help you.
If you haven't read my e-book on RRD, now is the time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Rosette e-book

I've had VINEYARD SONG send up canes that at first I swore were infected with RRD but later turned out fine. If it was limited to ruddy color and crinkley leaves then I wouldn't worry but the hyper-thorny canes is classic RRD, especially if they are soft and rubbery. Definately get it checked out.

I hope it isn't RRD. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

That is very scary! I thought we were safe here! My mom lives right down the road from Edmunds and unfortunately we've been hearing really bad things about them since the change of ownership.

Good luck to you and hopefully it's not RRD! Please let us know what you find out.

Spring of this year I had a Mary Rose. When she began to leaf out the growth could only be described as rrd [leaf nodes with as many as five stems growing from them, long thin leaves, so many thorns it barely had a cane, many buds all twisted and shriveled up. I took the rose out that night.

Than the same thing on midnight blue and easy going, I carefully removed them. Several weeks passed before three more roses began showing the same growth usually on just one or two canes. I can't begin to tell you how sick I felt. Well against all wisdom I had to try some thing. I did not remove the rose or the cane. Believe me, I know this was not a good thing to do. Yet something wasn't right so I had to try. I thought things were so bad at this point I needed to know for sure. I cut the roses back to healthy growth and waited, knowing if it was rrd the returning growth wouldn't get better. A month has passed now and all the growth on Heritage, Perdita and Fragrant Masterpiece has been fine.

Please, I'm not saying any one should do this. These roses all had three or more symtoms of rrd, they all looked like pictures of rrd. I know it wasn't herbicide damage. I have more questions then [Hines has pickles].

Maybe, if its your fist time seeing suspected rrd and it's only on one cane, removing that cane and observing new growth wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm certainly no expert but I have a feeling I'm not the only person who has had this problem and maybe it wasn't rrd. If I were to ask every question I have now it would read like a book.

I really hope your rose is not sick. Don't know about you but my garden is my peace in life. Yet, hummmm aphids,rose slugs, jb's, pm, bs, rmv, rrd, ect ect. Did I say peace? Good luck to you. Pat

pattyw,
There's another disease called Rose Spring Dwarf, and its sypmtoms match some of what you describe. It seems to be a disease that shows in spring, and them disappears until the conditions are identical. Which may not be the next spring.
There's a paper coming out next month about RSD and we should know more then.

Thank-you. I'll be waiting to read the article. Aside from this I have only one idea as to what I may have done but hesitate to mention because I haven't tested the idea. I'm fairly sure no cemicals where involved as no one even close doses yard work and I haven't any weed killer.

I had RRD on a Hot Cocoa and Sunsprite that were side by side in my garden. I got rid of them very quickly by digging them up and cutting them up small enough I was able to put them in double plastic bags. That seemed to do the trick as I didn't have any issues with my other roses but I watched them very carefully. Some people treat the soil with bleach, but that really isn't necessary because the RRD is caused by a mite in the air and doesn't come from the soil like crown gall does.
John

You're not supposed to have RRD in cultivated roses in the west coast.

Ann, dear Ann, when could you say this reassuring sentence about the eastern coastal areas?

I am getting so paranoid that I am afraid not only of cutting exchanges that was truly fan but even to order from nurseries that operate in infected areas

I had an infestation of RRD this year.I had to remove a small spellbound rose in the late spring which had it.Then to my horror I discovered in the summer time I had 17 more with the disease.They were tall and full of flowers-they were magnificent specimens.The presence of the disease was confirmed by a CR from ARS and he said to dig thme up immediately.He had to get rid of 10 of his own.Some of mine were Edmunds but also J&P.What is being done to prevent this epidemic? I have never ever experienced it. Where have all the roses gone?

Franklyn,
Could you share with me off line what state and county you live in (and a list of the roses as well as you can remember them)?
With seventeen sick ones, either the disease spread within your garden from Spellbound getting it last fall un-noticed, or you have a sick rose upwind that's the source of the infection/reinfection. The pattern of sickness in your garden may tell us which case you have. Feel free to contact me offline with RRD in your subject line.
Take a long look at my e-book linked below. It may help you understand the complexity of the problem.
Nothing is being done to prevent the epidemic.
All I can do is try to spread the word that it exists and that we can catch it early before it wipes out entire rose gardens, but only if the disease is known to exist.
(And to dispel the cr*p published by some that it's a disease that seldom infects cultivated roses.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Rosette E-book