Forgot to add , I too had those wild roses growing off my property. They were beautiful in spring ! I paid a local farmer to bush hog my part of it . The other owner didn’t want his part done. So I too had to live with it .

Yes, welcome! And, don't forget to change clothes and BATHE between walking through the wild multiflora and your roses. Those marvelous little mites hitch rides on the wind, wild life and YOU. They crawl between plants when they touch each other, so don't give them any help.

Thank you both. This all sounds somewhat hopeful. I'm going to hire someone to just come in and take down every one that I can find. No point messing around with it. I think I'll drop some thick black drop plastic over each spot I find one of the big bushes of it. Kill it over the next year or two as best I can. I wonder if it would be best to remove it all now, before the cold winter temps, or to wait until colder weather, when the mites are hibernating in the stems? Less chance of them being alive and spreading into my yard maybe?

*also @Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca - your pictures of Bathsheba are what got me into roses last winter :) I'd never seen such a nice flower on a rose before...now I have 2 and really like them. Great plants

It depends on where you are, rather exactly. I'm in northwestern Dutchess, and the combination of cold temperatures, high pH, and RRD is more than multiflora can handle. Before RRD arrived here, I suspected this would be the case, and now I've watched it long enough that it is an annoyance, but not much worse. Last winter was an issue because we never got winter, so I had to cut down 3 infected live multiflora in my yard instead of finding them dead. Few enough people grow garden roses around here, that there aren't many examples of the wichurana types that can last for years as infected plants.

Oh thank you B, it really is such a beautiful rose . I’m really excited for This spring for mine . It has exceeded my expectations for growth and blooms already !

I was wondering about that too @mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY) . Whether just chopping them at the base and letting their stems die over winter would be enough. Wasn't sure if the whole plant is infected or what.

@Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca I love it! Mine are growing tall up a stone wall. will be interesting to see if they make it through winter

Did you pair it with a clematis? It is the perfect companion for one . I hope you are pleasantly surprised come spring !

@Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca I didn't, but I like that idea for my wall. I don't know much about clematis, but have seen some really crazy tropical looking ones at my nursery this past summer. Kind of puffy pinks, white and lavender. More dimensional, not as flat as clematis I'm used to. Do you recommend any clematis that survive zone 5 winters?

I did put Bathsheba behind some of my korean lilacs though, which I really like. This is Bathsheba today. Lilac isn't in bloom but when they're all blooming together it was great. Not sure why but the color today was really bold in the center of bathsheba...especially with the golden hour light on her. I love the way the flowers are different color tones each flush she has-