Doesn't look good....on a great rose too, Jacques Cartier, a.k.a. Marchesa Boccella, one of the most fragrant, and best repeating of the OGRs.

Moses

Odyssey

I’d wait to let it grow out a bit more. It doesn’t seem normal, but not sure that’s RRD

Margeret,

I totally sympathize. People around here know their roses are RRD infected, and just wait for them to die (which takes years) because their bushes are still blooming or the owners are simply too lazy.

There are also RRD infected beds of KOs at public spaces like libraries, fast food, banks, everywhere! Ground zero for RRD proliferation , very sad.

Does not look good to me either but I do not know what it is. Rrd doesn’t start at the bottom without a previous infection on top. The mites search for tender succulent foliage to eat and lay their eggs in. Is this a new rose could it have come as a bare root? Have you had the rose for a while and may be missed an infection last fall?

One other thought is there any chance you live with any farms close by. This is the time of year that gmo farmers spray a combination of liquid nitrogen and roundup. Last year there where farms here that sprayed when the wind was blowing 15 to 20 mph. You should have seen the spray flying into people’s homes and yards. When I got home they had a segment on the Quad city news about the spraying.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I love this forum. Jacques is one of my favorites, almost always in bloom. I have had him for at least a decade, own root. I dug him up when I moved years ago to bring with me. It is always possible I missed an infection last fall. I do prune anything that looks suspicious. I have had probably 15 cases in the last 2 years or so. I live near DC, so no farms near by. I am at the end of a kind of windtunnel effect in my development and I think that is why I get hit with so many cases of RRD because it dumps the mites on my plants. I live in a neighborhood that has a home owner's association that contracts out lawn work, so it could be some kind of spray. I will watch it--I am just never sure how long to watch.

I decided to go cut the rose in half at the roots. I am happier watching that way, to see if any more weird growth comes out. This growth lopks more like RRD to me than even a few days ago.

Odyssey, just another thought. If it were mine I’d snap that piece off. I had a crazy growth at the bottom of South Africa last spring. Looked worse than yours with bunches of little laterals coming from everywhere. Couldn’t figure out what to do with it so I broke it off. Nothing else bad developed go figure.

Oops cross posted,that’s what the growth on my SA looked liked. Only now that I can see it better that does not look good. It was probably infected late last fall. Darn it! I’m off to try and find my photo..

Would love to see your picture Patty. Do you think yours was RRD?

Found one it is very fuzzy I think you can see why I was have a fit. It came out of the ground this way. I broke it off and the rose never got anything else on it. SA is still out there doing fine. I have no idea what it was or what caused it.

sorry it is sideways. I would have bet a pretty penny this was rrd.

There was another piece on it that looked more like yours but can’t find a photo.

Oh yeah, that does not look good at all! The clustered red growth, hyperthorniness and wisps would have had me worried. I am encouraged to hear nothing came back after you removed it. I hope I am so lucky.

Sorry to bring this back up again but I agree that your 2nd set of photos do resemble rrd. Hope your rose turns out to be fine.

Thanks Patty. It's nice to get confirmation. It's gone, and I'm now on RRD watch to see if anyting sprouts from the half I left. I hope not.

Wow, that's a really good catch! I would have missed it if it was my plant. Does your ownroot JC sucker?

I heard--too late-- that new growth on South Africa frequently looks abnormal. I pitched my brand new plant from RU last year. I was that sure.

I won't be so hasty next time.

BTW if a new rose has root to root contact with the remains of a rose that had RRD, or a neighboring rose which has RRD and may not be symptomatic-- then yes, new growth can emerge at the base infected.

Sorry to say I have seen this many time at a rose garden where I volunteer. They had a hedge of infected KnockOuts, didn't remove it promptly, and RRD starting popping up all over their 50 acres.

No, my JC does not sucker at all. I watch very intently, as I have had so much RRD here. I always try once to save my rose before chucking it. Even after all those cases, sometimes I like to ask the forum to be sure of what I am seeing.

I agree that RRD can spread by root to root contact, but my JC is in a container.

I feel your pain. I just dug out a Sweet Drift with SEVERE RRD symptoms. Clusters of buds completely mummified. New growth at the base was completely witchy looking too. At least I get to pick something else to try out now!