Weird Rose Growth. RRD or Round-up?

16 years ago

Good Morning, All.

Last week, as I was walking the dogs in the vineyard next door, I noticed some weird growth on two of their roses. It could be Round-up damage, but it also could be RRD -- I removed a definite RRD infected multiflora rose as I was clearing a fence line 4 years ago. I have since removed unimaginable amounts of multiflora, with no other RRD apparent.

During the Plant Swap Social, I asked two CRs who were here to go check it out for me. They came back leaning toward RRD, but unable to say for sure.

I went out yesterday morning with my camera (and my reading glasses, LOL) to get a better look at the situation. The two roses I originally saw are probably Dr. Huey rootstocks. They show witches broom growth, with spindly leaves, in numerous places. As I inspected all of the winery's roses, I found the worst weirdness on two roses beside their parking lot. It was this damage that is causing me to lean toward herbicide damage . . . but, again, I'm not sure enough to be comfortable. There are 14 photos in the Photobucket album, link below.

Any help I can get here from those of you who are more experienced with this will be sincerely appreciated. I have 120+ roses in pots that I just moved over here two weeks ago, and I'd hate to think that what I saw next door would mean their demise.

Connie

Here is a link that might be useful: Weird Rose Growth

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Comments (7)

michaelg
16 years ago
The frilly effect has the look of Roundup damage on roses, but I can't say with any confidence that's what it is. Are the parts that are affected in spots that might have been likely for spattering?

Ann has probably seen early RRD on Dr. Huey. I wonder if it makes the giant reddish growth that many modern roses do.
anntn6b
16 years ago
A couple of comments,
We have seen RRD on a large bed of Dr. Huey in the spring, and it's not red, but the green Round-up look alike, and by fall, it was no longer RU lookalike but much, much worse.
In the background, it looks as if the nearby fenceline was sprayed with a herbicide with an automated sprayer that took out about 18" of grass, etc.
It was so hot this summer that most herbicides' volatility was enhanced.
And all of these problems seem to have come up midsummer onwards. I don't think I see any symptoms of the a problem that was there in spring, and then came in even worse recently.
But I am not certain.
What I do know is that I'd take the sick canes off and wait. They aren't going to get better looking in the next two years even if it's ONLY round up.
The folks at the Vineyard might want to send samples to the plant disease lab at Virginia Tech (attention Mary Anne Hanson) and she could check for eriophyid mites which could be expected to have higher concentrations if it's RRD.
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hartwood
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, guys. This is exactly what I needed.

There was Round-up sprayed near the area of these roses. The Dr. Hueys are at the end of the line of grape vines, and the white cluster flowered bushes , #3 and #4, are adjacent to the gravel parking lot. I wish the symptoms were more indicative of one problem or the other -- we're still scratching our heads and staring at it.

The Dr. Huey roses are destined to be removed and destroyed anyway. I just don't want to recommend that they remove any of their other roses unless we're sure there's a disease problem. I will forward Ann's recommendation to send a sample to Va Tech, and we'll see how it goes.

You guys are the best!

Connie
anntn6b
16 years ago
Connie,
There's one more thing they need to know.
When roses get RRD, one of the possible earliest symptoms is Powdery Mildew. Often PM comes in totally out of season and then RRD shows up a couple of months later.
PM on R. multiflora is mentioned in one of Epstein and Hills papers (the one on Etiology of RRD) and I've seen it happen on a few non-multiflora roses that later develop RRD.
This becomes economically important for vineyards because they have the roses planted with the vines and depend on the appearance of PM on the susceptible roses to help them know when to start spraying their grapes to save the crop from PM.
And because their chemicals are expensive and most vineyards want to minimize spraying, false PM symptoms need to be understood.
Ann
buford
16 years ago
I vote for Round Up damage.I had some on a few roses and it looked similar. I use round up and don't think I sprayed near these roses, but I suppose it could have traveled. Mine have recovered for the most part.
dan_keil_cr Keil
16 years ago
RRD usually has excessive thorns to it and reddish stems. I would say Roundup and or 24,d. 24,d will cause the leaves to curl. Roundup damage turns the leaves reddish and twists the leaves.
anntn6b
16 years ago
Dan,
You really need to read my book about Rose Rosette. NOT ALL RRD HAS EXCESSIVE THORNS, NOR IS THE GROWTH RED ALL THE TIME.
There are so many different symptoms and so many changes in the disease as it gets more entrenched in a plant.
Have you ever seen a rose bud that looks like a Brussels Sprout. Even to the greenish yellow color. RRD on a HT in the St Louis Metro area in late spring; the owner thought his rose was turning into a blackberry. And that he could sell it as a novelty.
Ann

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