Ive had this happen on some of my buds, not often, but sometimes. The bud grows somewhat curved downward and the stem is very thick and also curved near the bud. I always thought it was some sort of insect damage that got to the bud as it was forming, that or drought while the bud was forming. Its not a common issue nor is it persistent, so I wouldn't worry.

OMG Thank you! I saw that thick stem and freaked out. I live in fear of RRD. I've been sitting here wondering if I should just rip it up. It's what you say - bent down and curved. It had plenty of water, so it has to be an insect then.

Also, i notice Belinda's Dream is prone to this. It happens to her more than some of my other rose, but others in my garden have had the same issue. I do not think its RRV related at all so no need to remove her. :)

Me too, when I was a new to growing roses, I saw a couple of these and didn't realize that it was midge. They told me on the roses forum thats midges larva can do that.

Same here I get lots of bent buds that often fall off the stem before blooming...(Rose Midge)...So yes just keep a watch out in case...

Hopefully yours is just a deformed bud and it probably is but stay alert...

I think in this case it might be on a bit of cold weather that did that in the picture.

I did see some little black burned dots on other plants where new growth should have started. Not matchsticks, but like it never even tried.

Midge. Unfortunately.

Guess I better stock up on cups. :-(

Update** Last year I ended up using a tree and shrub drench. The midge had got pretty bad. Hopefully I got them all. I didn't want to use insecticide, but it was that, or no roses. I did some research and found the ingredient that kills midge, then looked for it on Amazon. I don't have any houses near mine, so I'm assuming it can't come back if I got them all. I have seen one single weird bud this year, so I'm watching. Rose midge has to come from roses right? They aren't in trees/weeds?

It ( the premise on which your assumption is based, witchy) is easier said than done.

On another midge discussion here, Moses described his exacting technique for battling midge - one he has used for many years (or decades). A new poster then asked why midge returned every subsequent year, despite Moses’ care and attention. Her query was never answered.

Here, midge usually is evident after first flush.

Ahh so the little buggers never go away. Well that sucks. If I had known before, how much money and time I'd waste on roses ... My dumb*ss would still be trying! lol

Here is that discussion.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5738895/please-lets-talk-rose-midge#n=30

Interesting: until now, I had not seen Paul’s comment near the end.

His “feeling”about why midge seemed to disappear: is it biologically plausible? Has anyone ever identified natural predators which are effective in reducing Rose midge populations to that degree? Or mechanisms by which employing interventions to reduce Rose midge activity would perpetuate/enable Rose midge?