Thank you, Diane. This one came directly from David Austin and is grafted. I think I can deal with it for now, even though it is rather unattractive! I'll just have to wait and see how good it does otherwise. LOS is such a lovely rose too!

I agree, looks like RMV. I have a couple with it, but it doesn't seem to affect them much, apart from the weird patterned leaves. Well,one rose isnt as good as it could be, but then again it was a cheapy body bag rose so ...

There might not have been anything for you to notice last year- it doesn't always show up; sometimes only if the rose is stressed for some reason. Sort of like coldsores really, although at least its not contagious.

Cold sores--hahaha, Curdle. Sarah, some of mine were from Austin, and others were 5 gal from my Edwards Nursery, in Austin pots with documentation. DA knows. Diane

Hey Sara Ann, I got Boscobel & Lady Emma Hamilton the same spring a few years ago. Both leafed out with bad cases of RMV. Lady Emma has never shown signs of it again, but Boscobel looks like your LoS with its first foliage each spring. As the season progresses, new growth conceals the older affected leaves for the most part. Supposedly, RMV can make roses weaker and less likely to survive harsh winters in colder zones, but doesn't cause much other than cosmetic problems in warm zones. I do wonder if it's the reason my Boscobel blackspots so badly when others rave about its resistance, though. I haven't replaced it since it doesn't seem to be offered own root. A new grafted one might or might not show signs...so afraid to risk starting over and ending up with the same issue. If I ever find it own root, I do plan to replace it. I added LoS this year as an own root. If yours continues to have to "cold sore" outbreaks and you want to replace it, I would go that route to be safe.

Grrrrr so irritating. I've had several with it. It does seem to fade with time but I just deal with it. You would think they'd spend some of their money to fix the issue. Good luck with it and just enjoy your beautiful roses!!

Sorry, Sara-Ann! I have a few grafted Austins (most I own are own root) and a few have RMV. I lost more than half of the canes on one of my Claire Austin shrubs this winter that has RMV. It looks ugly, lopsided, and is not bouncing back. I bought it from a local nursery and so it could not be replaced by DA and the nursery has no guarantee on their roses. I ripped out 5 A Shropshire Lad last year that all had RMV and failed to grow much at all. DA offered to replace them but couldn't guarantee I could get own root ones (what I had originally ordered) and I just dropped it. My Gertrude Gekyll with RMV is just as vigorous as the other two I have and so no plans on taking it out at this time - interesting the difference.

How long have you had LOS? Did you get it directly from DA? I wouldn't hesitate to call them and get it replaced. I was told they rogue infected roses in their field during the season but, as you know, it only may show itself intermittently and so I'm sure many go undetected. At least they have a guarantee. LOS is beautiful and I hope you can continue to have her in your garden.

That's interesting, Dave, about your Claire Austin not being cold hardy. I've got a PAoK with RMV, and she's my hardiest Austin. Came through this horrible winter with no damage that I can remember. I don't know what to think of the whole RMV thing. It's been stated on the Forum that all grafted roses in the US are probably infected from the rootstock, but I've never had a non Austin with the stuff. And it seems like that's the case for everyone (?) else on the Forum. I find that kind of strange. Still, if this virus weakens roses so much (I haven't seen evidence of this), why don't humans with cold sores become weak and puny, and die young? (A little snark there). Diane

Haha! I'm not sure if I'd compare HSV to RMV, though. I'm not a botanist but from the literature I have state that it can weaken a rose, making it more sensitive to temperature extremes. This winter I had about 10 weeks of "normal" winter with temps approaching zero at times. However, the three late hard freezes did great damage and I may have lost the growth there. My own root Claire's came through pretty well, though. RMV, which the one has, is the only thing I can determine as the reason for this. Why it affects one vigorous rose more than another vigorous rose - not sure. Viral load? Will have to research this more.

Nanadoll, while most cases of RMV I've had have been on my grafted DA roses (worst case is Lady of shalott, but it doesn't seem to affect her vigor at all) I have had it on other grafted roses as well, the worst (and first) case of RMV I ever had was on a HT called Shockwave, which was a very healthy and frequent bloomer when I first purchased it locally, but it went down hill steadily over the year I had it, so much so that I eventually removed it.

Jessica.

Diane, my Hannah Gordon has RMV. But I was warned the guy I ordered from knows his stock is infected. I took my chances. It seems very healthy, bloomed like crazy and only showed signs after being stressed last summer.

Honestly, I've never seen a case that bad before. I'm so sorry Sara Ann! Luckily it's not contagious.

Thanks for the info Sarah and Jessica. So now I know Austin isn't the only one selling infected roses. I was pretty sure that was the case, but I just didn't know the particulars.

Dave, you know I was just joking about the cold sore virus. The seriousness of viral infections is all over the map, and many can certainly kill, and are not a joking matter. My first rose with RMV was an Evelyn from DA 13 years ago. After 10 years, she had become a huge (also in size) deer magnet, and the landscapers had planted her on the side of a hill where there was also too much shade. I planned to dig her out and transplant the rose. Hahaha. That monster had morphed into two roses with huge sideways main roots and all kinds of anchor roots. I dug all afternoon and finally got her-them out, leaving behind a virtual crater. I hate to say I tossed Evelyns, but I did. Obviously, RMV hadn't made that Evelyn puny, but turned her into a twin monster. I do regret tossing her-them, though. Weird, too. Diane

I thought the cold sore comment was funny and quite appropriate as a comparison. Hannah Gordon is only two years, we'll see what happens this year. Yes, I wish more were being done to treat RMV. It does seem to affect vigor over time for many, not to mention the ugly leaves. I would never knowingly buy another infected rose again.

RMV (rose mosaic virus) is not a virus; it is a group name for viruses that give mosaic symptoms when they infect roses.

Also different roses can have weaker or greater abilities to resist specific virus infections (for example, research to find roses that resist rose rosette disease is now being reported).

But the one point I feel is fundamental to any forum discussion of mosaic viruses that covers different temperature zones is the recognition that the rose immune system is temperature dependent.

https://sites.google.com/site/temperatureandrosemosaicvirus/home

The last roses I ordered from DA was in the spring of 2015. They were Tea Clipper, St. Albans and Leander. The first season they grew quite well, but last summer I noticed the foliage had a lot of mottling. Internet photos confirmed my suspicions of RMV. The plants all seem vigorous and bloom well, but the foliage is rather startling to look at. I noticed that as the summer went on and the temperatures became warmer, the mottling seemed to become less obvious. As much as I like DA roses, I am wary of ever ordering again.

Yes, heat makes the symptoms fade. Universities have indexed/treated some using sustained heat. J&P was involved, thankfully. But many growers don't care enough to do anything about it because it means losses of existing stock. They just keep growing infected stock. Money plays into everything...