Early spring is a good time to start looking for roses rosette disease (RRD) in rose plantings. While emerging shoots of rose normally appear reddish in color before turning green, shoots of roses infected with RRD are bright red, Rose leaves on the new shoots are stunted and twisted.
Rose rosette disease was described in roses beginning in the early 1940’s. The rose rosette virus was confirmed as the pathogen in 2011. The disease is spread by a tiny eriophyid mite.
I suspect that one of the roses in my home landscape has RRD. I received a call today from a homeowner concerned because one of several rose plants in her home landscape is displaying RRD symptoms.
What’s the next step?
Identifying the disease and removing affected plants are a must to protect other RRV disease-free roses. Select the link below for more: