Kim, is there a fairly up-to-date map of where RRD has spread? If you know of one, can you post it? I looked at https://roserosette.org/ but didn't find one. I want to see how close it is to the rose nurseries. It is worrisome bringing new plants into my garden, especially not knowing how close RRD-infected plants are to those sources.

Kim, thank you for posting this, and for your email. I just now forwarded it to Sarah. This is awful news! I would also love to know the general location of this home garden in Bakersfield. Obviously not the address, but just knowing if it’s near to Sarah’s house or a nursery would be quite helpful for her. Thanks, Lisa

Hi Melissa, the latest map I've seen is the one generated quite a few years ago. What is known, to the best of my knowledge, are the Weeks fields in Wasco and this home garden in Bakersfield. I pray these are IT, but there is no way of knowing until the next report. Worrisome about bringing in new roses? YES!!! Particularly when the infection just MIGHT be from commercially produced plants....

This is really terrible news. I’m worried. Lisa

Thank you, Lisa. Sarah was the first person I thought of. Fortunately and unfortunately, there is no way to find out where the home garden there with the outbreak is. I wouldn't want anyone knowing it was ME. Would you?

I wouldn't want anyone knowing it was me. I agree with that.

But what I WOULD like to know -- and we really should be told -- is . . . have any new roses been added to this garden in the past 12 months.

If the answer is yes, I would like to know where those new plants came from.

I would like to know whether or not there are commercial nurseries within a mile of that location.

Of course, no one is going to tell us whether or not there have been major rose-heavy landscaping projects near that location, but everything we CAN learn would help.

The only thing in my favor right now is the fact that NO ONE is planting any new roses anywhere near here.

I agree, I wouldn’t want to be known as the gardener who “brought” RRD to Bakersfield, either. But just like Jeri, knowing the general area (N, S, E, or West Bakersfield) would help those in Bakersfield make better decisions about certain things. For example, not buying any roses from nurseries or big box stores in that area of town. Of course, I wouldn’t want to be the nursery selling roses, down the street from this home gardener, either. I totally understand that you don’t have more specifics, and we probably ever will. Do you know Kim, if we will ever know if this was on a rose recently purchased, or if it “blew” into that home garden?

It’s just SO frightening! I already no longer purchase roses from Texas, just because that seems to be a “hot spot” for RRD. (No, I don’t have any inside information, about certain nurseries. It was just a personal choice I made.)

I’m getting scared about all roses now. I don’t know much about RRD, because I always thought, “Thank goodness we don’t have that here!” I guess I need to do some researching. IIRC, a rose infected by the mite can remain symptom free for a long time, (up to a year?), just based on Jeri’s remark. Oh, I hate this! Lisa

Kim, thank you so much for letting me know ASAP. I admit just reading that RRD had been found in my city of Bakersfield brought tears to my eyes. The thought of losing a rose or possibly a whole rose garden would be devastating! However, I feel like I’m in a pretty good position that I have friends in high places that are constantly feeding me invaluable information and always looking out for me and my new garden. I plan on catching up on research tonight when the kids are sleeping...my guilty pleasure of reality TV will just have to wait!

Honestly, there is no good news anywhere. I didn't know Texas was a "hot bed" of the disease, and I'm getting roses from there later in the year. I'm getting rather fatalistic about having a rose garden at this stage. The only problem is that for me a garden without roses IS NOT a garden. I'm afraid it's too late for me to change that mindset. Still, it's good to know that RRD is now in California. At least that way we can be on the lookout for it in our gardens, and we can order our flame throwers now.

Ingrid, maybe I shouldn’t have said that about Texas being a “hotspot for RRD”. I want to make it clear that I know very little about RRD. The ONLY thing I based my decision on, was from posts and comments here, on the forum. It just “stuck in my mind” that I had read posts about some commercial landscaping having “lots” of Knockout roses that were obviously all infected with RRD, and no one was doing anything about them. Also that heartbreaking thread from JoshTx, about having to remove all his beloved roses because RRD had infected his garden, stuck in my mind. It was just MY uninformed, knee jerk reaction. I probably shouldn’t have posted that, but what’s done is done. I’ve NEVER heard or read anything about “our” rose nurseries in Texas having RRD, or spreading it. I feel bad about posting that. It’s only MY uninformed decision. I want to make that clear. Lisa

I have never had a problem with ARE.

There are "hot spots" in Texas. The College Station / ARE area is NOT affected at this point.

Apparently RRD was also found in Florida on purchased plants (2014). However, it did not appear to spread naturally there (as of 2014) as the mites were not present.

" Even though the virus is reported to spread by an eriophyid mite Phyllocoptes fructiphilus, thorough examination of the infected samples showed absence of the vector. "

https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/PDIS-05-14-0501-PDN

Are there any updates on the Florida situation?

Everyone...I am happy to help anyone that wants information about rose rosette disease, rose rosette virus or the eriophyid mite that transmits the virus. Please contact me at gayeh@LPM-triallaw.com. RRD is no more prevalent in Texas than in other states. What brought it attention was the fact that RRD had not been present in the state since the 1980's and then all of a sudden it was everywhere. It got everywhere for three reasons....plants infected with RRD got into the chain of commerce, landscapes with infected plants were maintained with leaf-blowers and huge populations of roses were being incorporated into public landscapes where people are not looking at them up close regularly - allowing infections levels and mite populations to explode. RRD was actually first found in California in the 1940's and from California made its way across the United States. It is not surprising that the disease is still there. There is a Rose Rosette Task Force supported by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture that is ongoing with more than 37 scientists from around the country working on this. The Task Force is making progress into understanding RRD, being able to diagnose RRD in plants without symptoms, understanding and controlling the mite, etc. at an astounding rate. Important is not to panic or cause a panic. If anyone in this chain is a nursery professional, there are suggested best practices for industry. If you contact me privately I will share those with you.

North Texas is where most of the RRD problems are, not the south half where ARE is located.

You are correct. ARE is located in Independence, TX (Washington County). There have been no reports of RRD in that county. Ninety-five percent of the confirmed sightings of RRD have been north of Interstate-20....cities like Fort Worth, Dallas, Rockdale, McKinney had large populations of plants removed due to RRD.

Remember Texas is huge. The Antique Rose Emporium is over 200 miles south of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area which has been hit so hard with RRD. Yes, north Texas has been called an epicenter, but so far it appears to be mostly in the northern third of the state. Texas A&M has big studies going on and say that though there have been a few isolated cases confirmed south of I-20, they were probably brought in infected and I-20 appears to be at this point generally the southern boundary of the disease area. Tyler with its commercial rose industry is about an hour east of Dallas and there have been confirmed cases in commercial plantings of Knockouts but AFAIK the rose growing fields (mostly hybrid teas and commercial cut roses) appear to be okay. I do not know about Chamblees located in Tyler, though when I was there this spring all the greenhouses were full of mostly Knockouts, Drifts and a few Kordes and Weeks...very few antique roses or Bucks (no criticism, he had to respond to the market to stay in business and is retiring and selling which is very sad for all of us.) I also don't know about David Austin's growing fields near Tyler (though I have over 40 DAs that were grown there and acquired a few more last year that are fine.) But I do know that ARE is 3-1/2 hours south of Dallas and I-20, and that their growing fields are way out in the country, surrounded by miles and miles of rolling grassland and trees, far away from any sizable towns or other rose growers or gardens. At this point I would have no concerns buying from them.

Lisa, I didn't mean to "pile on!" I know you were just expressing your own concerns and decision, and I had not seen some other posts from Texas folks when I started writing my long one.

No problem, debrak:). I regret posting that, and wish I hadn’t. I should have thought my comment through more carefully before posting it. I apologize. The LAST thing I want to do is cause panic or hurt a rose nurserie’s business. Like I said, it was just my own personal decision, based on nothing more than posts and comments on this forum. I have ordered roses from ARE in the past myself, with absolutely no problems. Again, I apologize and probably should have deleted my comment, but at this point, doing so would make this thread confusing. Please ignore my uneducated comment, and listen to the experts. Lisa

Oh, gosh....RRD is scary. Of course if someone doesn't realize how big an area we're talking about (Texas is the size of several smaller states) then it would stick in your mind! There is a LOT of RRD in the north part, it has decimated more than one municipal rose garden as well as many private collections; those of us in the rest of the state are just trying to take comfort in it not being here (as far as we know.) I admit I'm starting to worry about having brought in several new DAs and a few from another nursery in the Tyler area this spring; I have no reason to be concerned about those sources except location. But...location.

I am profoundly grateful for the fact that I'm not adding any new commercially-produced roses from ANY source. At this point, the only thing I'd like to have, eventually, is "Giannini Tea" from the Sacramento City Cemetery. Other than that, a new rose IN is going to require another rose OUT. And there's also nothing I want to lose.
Thank the good Lord, most folks here are planting succulents . . . since we don't got no water here.

Oh no. The bad news just can't stop coming, it seems. Very sorry to hear this--had hoped we would be safe.

I agree with Sarah. It would be a good thing to know where in Bakersfield the outbreak (or plural) occurred. What was the source? Was it tested to determine if it is linked to the Weeks material, or had someone brought something else in? Could it have come from a different commercial source or had someone obtained cuttings from someone and accidentally rooted infected material? There are simply too many unanswered questions which leave all of us fearful of buying new roses from any source. I have been in that position for the past three years for fear of Chili Thrips. We don't have them here and I don't WANT them. Not simply because I will not spray, anything, for any reason, period and I am not ready to not grow and breed roses, but because they attack almost anything and this area is a HUGE agricultural center. We're surrounded by many hundreds, perhaps thousands of acres of any kind of produce you can imagine...strawberries; blue, black and raspberries; grapes; lettuce; broccoli; kale; Brussels sprouts; onions; even flowers. There are several hillsides of gladiolus breaking into flower along the 101 right now in commercial production. All of which are endangered by the thrips. Guadalupe, nine miles west of here, on the ocean, is the broccoli capital of the nation.

RRD only attacks roses, thankfully, but with it in Wasco and now Bakersfield, that endangers all sources in the Central Valley. Wasco is a bit less than seventy miles from Burlington (Visalia). Bakersfield is approximately eighty miles from her. The wholesale nursery which propagates for RVR is IN Bakersfield. I hope RVR also has mother plants of their catalog. This nursery does and they are IN the city in which RRD has been found. How long were the documented infected plants in place prior to being found to be symptomatic? How many other roses have potentially been exposed via wind-borne mites? The Central Valley is WINDY. California is WINDY.

Am I concerned? Need I answer?

Sadly, I must say that Kim speaks for me.

Can anyone speak to the presence of the vector-mite in California?

From a June 2013 publication

"Distribution (Back to Top)

Although Keifer described finding Phyllocoptes fructiphilus on Rosa californica in California in 1940, it is not found on commercially produced roses grown in the southern San Joaquin Valley at present. Whether this is due to the pesticides applied to these roses or to climatic conditions that result in low relative humidity is unknown. However, Phyllocoptes fructiphilus can be found on roses in the eastern half of the USA and it, and the disease it transmits, appear to be spreading into the New England states. As of 2013, this mite is not known to occur in Florida or the southern half of other Gulf States. It is interesting that the mite and the disease are not found on cultivated roses grown in large-scale nurseries in dry areas of California and Arizona, despite having been first identified on roses in California. Thus, it is not entirely certain what the native range or native host of the mite may be. Most assume that Phyllocoptes fructiphilus is native to North America on native rose species and has adapted to multiflora roses and cultivated roses."

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/ORN/ph_fructiphilus.htm

--------------------------------------------------

See also:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4907117/rose-rosette-disease#n=70

Thank you, Dr. Kuska.

Perhaps I can help with some additional information. The infections of RRD in Wasco and Bakersfield are not related. Isolates from infected plants in both cities have been tested by the scientists at UC-Davis and determined that the infections came from two different sources. The bushes at one of the Bakersfield sites were not newly planted. A home nearby had suspect plants as well and those are likewise being tested. All specimens that have tested positive for RRD have had eriophyid mites present.

What many do not realize is that an RRD-infected plant can live for 3 - 5 years in the landscape and may not transmit the disease to adjacent plants unless the roots of a diseased and healthy plant touch, or unless eriophyid mites feed on a sick bush and then get blown or "balloon" to a healthy bush. There are other ways for RRD to be transmitted but these two are the most common. In the words of Dr. Mark Windham (Univ. of TN), the expert on RRD-carrying mites, "It's all about the mite" when it comes to RRD.

The source of the Wasco infection is known and the commercial grower has expended hundreds of thousands of dollars in remediation efforts including removing/destroying plants, extensive random testing by experts from the National Clean Plant Network-Rose and UC-Davis and chemical treatments with miticides. The source of the Bakersfield infections is not known but is under investigation by a team of experts from around the country that were in California earlier this month.

As for the Gulf States, the presence of RRD-infected roses have been identified by University Extension Services in Alabama (2010), Texas (2012), Florida (2013) and Louisiana (2015). RRD was actually present in Louisiana a lot earlier (2010) at the American Rose Center in Shreveport, which was an isolated finding with the diseased plant being removed (I am the person that found and removed the infected plant).

Mississippi State Univ. published an Extension publication in 2018 stating that RRD had been found in that state "in recent years". Work is being done now to try and answer why diseased plants are found in some parts of these states and not others. (For example, RRD is found at epidemic levels in Texas north of Interstate 20 but rarely in other parts of the state).

Someone mentioned chilli thrips. Unlike RRD, chilli thrips can be controlled. I supervise a rose trial in Houston that was located at the epicenter of chilli thrips populations in TX. From that study, we have identified several rose cultivars that appear resistant to chilli thrips after five years of pest pressure. But like RRD, early identification and immediate action is important to getting both problems under control. .

For me, I am not going to stop growing roses and I am not going to stop doing research on hardy roses. What I am going to do is scout the plants I grow and supervise more carefully (especially densely foliated shrubs).

From the rose trials that I have been involved in North Texas, there has seemed to be an association between environmental changes and outbreaks of RRD. During early spring (when plants come out of dormancy) and at times of excessive heat/drought seem to be when I've seen more incidences of RRD occur than at other times of the year. It could be that these particular conditions encourage mite populations to flourish...I just don't know.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions.

I'm with Kim -- and for much the same reasons:
" . . . because they attack almost anything and this area is a HUGE agricultural center."

This is still an agricultural county. Citrus, avocados, strawberries, lettuce, corn . . . etc. They're all grown here, and Chilli thrips could devastate this industry, resulting in the lost of hundreds upon hundreds of jobs.

I pray there will never be a generalize outbreak of that, here, as I pray there won't be a big outbreak of RRD. For the present, I am self-quarantined.

Wasco isn't known for being "high humidity", as that quote points out. How did RRD move from the "research material" to retail ready, commercial roses in the same field?

I don't know much about RRD but reading this thread quitely. Lisa, I remember Josh from Texas. This is very devastating news even I cannot say how sorry I am since it is spreading by wind. Just be careful and keep an eye . I am truly sorry it is in Bakersfield. I know it is a huge farming area and I been there many times. That is going to hurt many farmers. I hope Dept of Agriculture will step in to help. How, I won't know again. I don't know much about RRD .

Sarah is on my mind since I know she lives there and also Burling .

Jin

Thank you, Gayeh6. Would you happen to know in what area of Bakersfield the outbreak was discovered? Not the specific address as that could be an invasion of privacy and perhaps potentially target someone for unwanted attention, but knowing if it was way "out in the burbs" on one end or the other of the city or in the center where properties are denser might help alleviate concerns for those living in the area. Also, might you please share the information about the potentially Chilli Thrip resistant roses? I'd personally find that interesting from a breeding point of view. Perhaps if they possessed other traits I seek, they may be worth considering adding to "the mix"? Thank you for sharing what you have and being as open about it here. I'm encouraged that the Weeks' efforts appear to have been appropriate, at least so far. I am extremely curious about the private outbreak. I wonder if it occurred on material obtained from a mail order retail source, of it occurred like the Citrus Psyllid, from someone bringing in infected material independently? Thank you! Kim

There has been more than one specimen from Bakersfield that has been confirmed to have RRD. I do not know the specific locations where the specimens were collected except that they appear to have been in subdivisions. I understand that experts are attempting to identify the source of these infections now. The first plant to have been identified was not newly planted and it is my understanding it had been in the landscape for some time. That information would implicate virulent eriophyid mites as the source of infection - which were ultimately confirmed on the sample.

In our Earth-Kind Modern Rose Trial that was planted in the Houston medical center (the epicenter of chilli thrips populations since 2007) the following roses were not bothered by this pest: Gaye Hammond and Wedding Bells. Plum Perfect also proved to be tolerant (I can't say it was resistant because there was one evaluation in the 4 years of study where one plant had a few leaves that had damage but that was less than 1% of the foliage). In this trial it was common for us to see chilli thrips in all other cultivars from May through September.

Thank you. "Locations", multiple...that's scary. Congratulations! That's quite a compliment for Dr. Z to name a rose for you! Neat! David is one of the best, isn't he?

This is very, very discouraging.

I had a heavy outbreak of thrips last summer in San Marcos, TX and three roses were completely unaffected by them: ‘sweet nothings’, ‘aptos’ and ‘miracle on the hudson’.

Western Flower Thrips or Chilli Thrips?

Ugh. I don't have chilli thrips yet. Hope they stay away!

Lisa, please don't feel that you've misspoken. You were simply voicing a personal opinion and I'm sure we all took it as such. As it happens, you were not mistaken since Texas does have a significant problem. I'm happy to see that it's north of the ARE's growing fields. I'm sure the ARE is aware of the problem and will take whatever measures they can to ensure their roses are free of RRD. Given the problems my garden is experiencing these few roses I'm ordering will most likely be the last for me.

Very concerned, and very dismayed, Sadly, not surprised. I suspect it was inevitable.

Let's hope something can be done, though I cannot imagine what it would be.

Rosefolly