{"id":3491,"date":"2021-09-20T10:42:22","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T18:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3491"},"modified":"2021-09-20T10:42:22","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T18:42:22","slug":"rose-rosettes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/rose-rosettes\/","title":{"rendered":"Rose Rosettes"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you aim to strike fear into a rose breeder\u2019s heart, all you need are three little words\u2014\u201crose rosette disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rose rosette disease is an insidious rose killer.\u00a0 Spread by microscopic eriophyid mites, the virus affects only roses.\u00a0 There is no cure and it is almost invariably fatal.\u00a0 To make matters worse, no rose species or variety is immune.\u00a0 Even the \u2018Knock Out\u2019 rose, advertised as pest and disease resistant, is susceptible.<\/p>\n

In many years of growing roses, I have dealt\u2014mostly successfully\u2014with black spot, powdery mildew, aphids, rose chafers and Japanese beetles.\u00a0 I have never encountered rose rosette disease until this year.\u00a0 Now it appears that at least three of my rose bushes are afflicted.\u00a0 Unfortunately they will have to be destroyed.<\/p>\n

You will never see the mites, but the symptoms of rose rosette disease are fairly easy to spot.\u00a0 Rose bushes will develop atypical new growth, sprouting \u201cwitches brooms\u201d\u2014bunches of thicker, pricklier stems with slender red leaves that never turn green.\u00a0 These stem and leaf clusters look completely different than normal new growth on the shrubs.\u00a0 When flower buds appear, they are also deformed and rosette-like.\u00a0 The disease is systemic, so even if you prune off the affected parts, chances are the entire plant is ailing.<\/p>\n

Like other notorious viruses, rose rosette disease is contagious.\u00a0 The mites that carry it cannot fly, but can be carried by the wind from plant to plant.\u00a0 This is a special threat to dedicated rose beds where shrubs are close together.<\/p>\n

The main host plant for rose rosette disease is the multiflora rose, which was imported from Japan for use as a hardy rose rootstock in 1866.\u00a0 \u201cHardy\u201d quickly morphed into \u201cunstoppable\u201d as the multiflora escaped domestic cultivation and began invading woodland edges, sunny roadsides, vacant urban lots and even untended corners of suburban backyards.\u00a0 It is very easy to recognize, especially in May, when the small, fragrant white flowers appear.\u00a0 Multifloras are thicket-forming shrubs with slender, flexible canes.\u00a0 The flower clusters are made up of five-petaled single blooms with centers containing bright golden stamens.<\/p>\n

Pollinators love the fragrant flowers and birds gorge themselves on the small red hips that develop in summer.\u00a0 By doing what birds do best\u2014eating and excreting\u2014our avian friends help to spread multifloras over a wide area.\u00a0 When the plants are untended and untamed, the thickets grow to immense size, outcompeting less aggressive native species.\u00a0 Though lovely to look at, multifloras are a threat to local ecosystems.\u00a0 Their propensity for hosting rose rosette disease makes them dangerous to rose gardens as well.\u00a0 If you love roses, don\u2019t let Rosa multiflora take root in your yard and give a heads up to your neighbors as well.<\/p>\n

If you spot rose rosette disease on one of your roses, steel yourself for the inevitable.\u00a0 You are going to have to take it out\u2014roots and all.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t, the virus may spread to uninfected plants.\u00a0 The best way to remove the rose is to put a sturdy plastic bag over the top growth at the start of the process to keep mites from traveling.\u00a0 Dig out the whole thing, getting all the roots.\u00a0 Throw the bag in the trash, rather than composting the remains.\u00a0 Afterwards, be extra safe by disinfecting the garden tools that you used, washing your gloves and even washing the clothes you were wearing. \u00a0Don\u2019t go near other roses before taking those steps.<\/p>\n

Even the most careful removal process may leave a few virus-infected roots in the ground, so avoid planting new roses in the same spot.\u00a0 Try another perennial or shrub that likes the same conditions\u2014lilies, flowering weigela or peonies will all do the job.<\/p>\n

To discourage mites, prune back roses hard at the end of the growing season, as the minute creatures tend to secrete themselves in the old flower buds.\u00a0 Don\u2019t plant rose bushes too close together and make sure all roses have good air circulation within and around the shrubs.<\/p>\n

I love roses and I will not let rose rosette disease stop me from growing them.\u00a0 My heart is heavy at the thought of taking out two of my oldest and most productive bushes, not to mention a lovely newcomer, but if doing so will save the many other treasured plants, it is a price I am willing to pay.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>And one more thing\u2014if you are like me and tend to blame yourself for plant failures, take a deep breath or a long walk.\u00a0 The mite, though microscopic, is bigger than you are.\u00a0 Enjoy your remaining roses, stay away from multifloras and know that the \u201cbad guy\u201d in rose rosette disease is the virus, not the gardener.\"rose<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you aim to strike fear into a rose breeder\u2019s heart, all you need are three little words\u2014\u201crose rosette disease.\u201d Rose rosette disease is an insidious rose killer.\u00a0 Spread by microscopic eriophyid mites, the virus affects only roses.\u00a0 There is no cure and it is almost invariably fatal.\u00a0 To make matters worse, no rose species … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3],"tags":[2580,2578,2581,2579,2582],"class_list":["post-3491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-multiflora-roses","tag-rose-diseases","tag-rose-pathogens","tag-rose-rosette-disease","tag-rose-viruses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3491"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3493,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491\/revisions\/3493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}