Dcrosby, You may be right at the edge of zone 5/6. Check the map here. If you are still zone 5, you just need to do some winter protection. It should be fine. Climate affects disease susceptibility. In dryer, more arid climate like AZ or CA, they don't have to deal with fungal disease like we do here in humid East Coast. When you read people's recommendations, you want to see where they live. Different climate gives different results to the same rose variety. Spraying for roses every week or every two weeks is not my kind of fun (anymore). I didn't even want to smell the blooms after I sprayed the bushes. Now I don't spray, most of my roses esp. Austins look naked by mid summer. Here is a link that might be useful: MA new plant hardiness zone map

And (don't do it..just making a point), pour burning gasoline on the ground where it was growing, set off a small thermonuclear explosion there, pour hydrochloric acid on it...etc. Such a horrid thing...I saw one growing from plants I had transplanted this spring (another house) and thought, 'Oh no you don't..I would rather rip my plant out than suffer you to reseed!'.

Can you give a general location, please? And perhaps add a photo that shows the stem from the side. It looks like there are stipules at the leaf bases, but I am not sure.

Where do you live? I'm sensing the Chicago area. What kind of grass do you have (assuming fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and/or rye)? Now is the time to fix it. Early spring (January to March) can work, but any later and you're back to having a crabgrass lawn again. NOW is the time. Most problems in lawns come from watering wrong? If you were not watering at all, that's often much better than watering too frequently. Did you water at all?