It's been a while since I posted on this forum, but I saw this post and it is a topic of interest to me. I have experienced RRD on my property. I was the first confirmed case in Eastern PA back in 2002. I reported it to a woman in Georgia that is tracking the progression of RRD and she confirmed my suspicions, it was a positive ID of RRD. I am posting a link to pictures that I took if anyone is interested in seeing what the disease looks like (it still gives me the creeps looking at the pics, yuck!). It was on one of my favorite roses, an Austin rose named "The Prince". Here is a link that might be useful: RRD pictures

Ann, the virus has been found in Bossier City (just about on I-20). http://bestofswla.com/2015/12/03/witchs-broom/ "Bossier shares most aspects of its climate with its sister city of Shreveport. The city has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot, humid summers and mild winters. During the warmer months, the city is prone to severe thunderstorms which feature heavy rain, high winds, hail, and occasional tornadoes. The city has a slightly above average rate of tornadoes when compared to the US average.[15] Due to the flat topography of the city and the prominence of smaller waterways that are prone to backwater flooding from the Red River, the city occasionally experiences severe flooding events. A notable occurrence of severe flooding occurred in March 2016 after torrential rains caused a rapid rise of many local waterways, displacing upwards of 3500 people from their homes across the area.[16][17] Freezing and ice storms occasionally occur during the winter months." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bossier_City,_Louisiana

The whole issue is potentially really quite terrible. Weeks brought "research material" into their production fields and propagated it beside roses they made for sale to the public. Some of that material was infected with RRD. That was four, perhaps longer, years ago. It can take several years for RRD to manifest itself. In the several years since the initial infection, bud wood, cuttings and bare root plants have been distributed to virtually every commercial rose source in the US as well as abroad. That means, worst case scenario, there are RRD time bombs at every production source of roses in this and perhaps many other countries. By now, who knows how many Weeks roses (and other varieties they propagated) may have been exposed? Perhaps none. Perhaps... Yes, if no one buys, the industry and its members suffer and perhaps fail. How much of a gambler are YOU? If I had a yard full of roses I could easily replace and if RRD existed outside my fences, I may feel differently. I don't and it doesn't.

Please note: " use by high-volume commercial producers of roses, and in the case of Immunostrip lateral flow devices, even for plant collectors and gardeners. "