Paranoid about RRD in my Northwest garden. . .

16 years ago

A few months ago I noticed that my Chihuly (from Edmunds, this spring) had put out an aberrant cane: bright red, lots of thorns, etc. I know that it is a rarity for a rose in the Pacific Northwest to have RRD but the rose came from the Mid-west. Because no one (even a local rosarian) in this area knows about RRD, I decided to whack off the cane at the base and wait. Ever since then this rose has had very little growth--abnormally so. I did post a thread about Chihuly's growth pattern: is it slow to repeat and put out foliage?? But, I didn't get much of a response.

Today as I was examining my roses, I saw some odd growth on my Hot Cocoa: bright red, distorted leaves, several coming out of one nodule. Since its leaves are usually bright red when they first break out, this isn't too odd, but several coming out of one nodule and so distorted? I'm paranoid that this could be more RRD. We have had some freezing nights. Could this distortion be because of the freezing temperatures? See photos. Any input that you may have would be much appreciated. CJ

I'm going to go ahead and get rid of the Chihuly, just to ease my mind.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

floridaarkansan
16 years ago
Does not really look like RRD to me. Are the thorns abnormally large and thick? Quite a few years ago I lost 1/3 of my garden to RRD. We were just beginning to hear of it. That was in northeast Arkansas. Sometimes the best remedy is to get rid of the rose and hope it has not spread.

Good luck!
chuck_billie
16 years ago
I don't think it's RRD either.
Looks like new growth to me, likely due to our mild weather to date.
I do suggest you get rid of the diseased leafs in the picture.
The plants could then get a good start in the Spring.
Good luck,
Chuck
Related Discussions
My crazy, exhausting day all because of RRD
Q
Comments (6)
No need for paranoia ... but vigilence is a good thing. Be aware of what normal new growth looks like on your various types of roses, but don't get overly frantic about an errant red leaf or thorny stem. The miticide you would need to deal with the RRD mites is available from Rosemania. I wouldn't bother, though. I don't spray any insecticides (or miticides) in my garden ... I have 800+ roses, and I had 3 cases of RRD this spring ... all dealt with promptly. Most nursery workers and landscapers have no idea what RRD is. I have educated more than one nursery about the disease, after finding infected roses in their inventory. I'm really sorry about your Dick Clark, even though it wasn't a rose you loved ... it still sucks. Connie
...See More
Concerns about RRD
Q
Comments (40)
If not for the ARS, there would be no website of ours about it. When it first got bad here, over a decade ago, I gathered as much info as I could, and it wasn't much beyond "doesn't affect cultivated roses" and we started studying it in twice a month trips to the LMU rose garden where it was a serious infestation. I contacted the ARS, got the info about what it takes for articles for them, did a detailed three part article and had it rejected because it was too long and if I could condense it to 1500 words and two or three pictures, they would reconsider it as it had been a couple of years since they did a piece on RRD. This damn near broke my heart and spirit. I could see the problem growing, the lack of info out there and no way to get the word out. Then via Gardenweb, we got a call from a garden in northern Virginia about RRD in their garden and they needed pictures to confirm it. We (mostly my computer literate husband) turned the three articles into three chapters of what would evolve into our e-book. I also greatly condensed the material from it into an article that appeared in the American Rose. Lots of people who receive the magazine never read it; I can't tell you how many people never saw those three pages. Last January's American Rose also had a bit from me about RRD; that evolved from something I had written for a newsletter within the ARS. I was asked to give a talk about RRD at the ARS National in Philadelphia, and I had a two page hand out summarizing the talk. Those two pages got a fair amount of reprinting with ARS newletters and also led to some talks, some with good attendance, many with marginal attendances. I've given up being frustrated and just try to put what I know out there in a format that can be referenced. If anybody cares to, the bibliography in the e-book is the place they should start, rather than starting from scratch and reinventing the wheel. A decade ago, I said that the problem wouldn't be solved in my lifetime. I've no reason to change that assessment.
...See More
Is something wrong with my tomatoes, or am I just being paranoid
Q
Comments (4)
Hi guys! Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. Joe, I think you're spot-on (if you'll pardon the pun!); I did some research on early blight and it looks exactly like what I have on my leaves. I'm concerned about cutting off the entire leaves though- that'll be half of them!! Do you suppose I could just cut off the spotted parts first? I guess it's worth a shot, at least. No, I don't top water, but my topsy-turvy strawberry planter (which, I might add, is crap!) is directly above it, which I suppose amounts to the same thing. I'll see if I can find another spot for it, though that may be tricky with the space I'm working with! Damon & Colo. Springs: I think you may be right. My mix does seem to be very water-retentive. I think I'll try watering a little less; the plants have quadrupled in size since I've put them in so I'm sure they must have pretty well-established root systems by now, so as you pointed out, I may simply have to live with it. I had no idea I should use so much bark in my mix- I'd never have thought of that! Well, at least it's better than my first try at container growing tomatoes-- I had a Big Boy in an 8 inch by 8 inch container with nothing but topsoil... so I'm improving! :p
...See More
Can RRD be imported into my garden on bare root roses?
Q
Comments (2)
Rebecca, it is possible for the rose to have rrd but there would not be any living eriophyid mites on there to spread the disease. The e-mite is the only known vector/spreader of the disease rose rosette. There are not many reported cases up your way but they are there. Heck you could visit a rose garden and bring a mite home on your clothing. They can't fly and so depend on the wind, insects and other means on transportation to get to your roses. Hope that this helps.
...See More
anntn6b
16 years ago
If you were up at a 5,000 to 6,000 foot elevation, I'd be more worried for your roses. RRD has been found in the west at those elevations on wild roses.
But I think there's a more likely possibility that your current problem is Rose Spring Dwarf (and your temperatures are more springlike now) which isn't anywhere as serious, but is also a virus. And the symptoms show up as contorted new growth in early spring. And when fingerpruned off, the replacement growth looks normal.
There is one picture on Baldo Villegas' website.
And there's a paper about it in the new Acta Hort publication on Roses (that isn't in my ag. library yet.)
roseman
16 years ago
There is really no point in becoming paranoid about it. If it is determined that RRD is what you have, then follow the Rx we all know about and deal with it. Remember, the old Edmunds that we all knew and loved is no longer around, so there are going to be problems with them now. Just as dead birds know there are other worlds to sing in, there are other nurseries to patronize who guarentee RRD free stock. The world is changing and rose growing right along with it. We as rosarians have to adapt and move on. Paranoia is counter productive, so get over it.
anntn6b
16 years ago
There is NO guarantee of RRD free stock, because there can't be. There's no way to prove that the RRD vector mite won't land on a rose as it's being shipped and infect it.
If folks choose to be educated and worried about RRD, that's their right. IMO it's a danged shame that the ARS didn't raise a serious fuss about this when it started its move to the east. Carefully documented spread and the losses in rose gardens with documentation could have been really useful.
Nope, won't get over it. No way. No how.

Paranoid about RRD in my Northwest garden. . .

Comments (5)

floridaarkansan

chuck_billie

Related Discussions

anntn6b

roseman

anntn6b

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US