I couldn't seem to add photos to my original post, so I'll post them here.

The new growth

The suspicious cane

Elizabeth, did you have a fairly heavy frost after your roses had partially leafed out? That’s what I think I see on your rose.

I don't think so? I don't remember one.

I challenge anyone to say it could not be RRD.

I am afraid if it is RRD, it may have already reached the roots. The suspect cane and the new growth were in two different places, and the new growth was close to the base.

IF it is, and if it is confined to one cane, removing that cane as low down as possible could save it.

Consider more photos, and more opinions (in a timely fashion) before removing the rose

I do not see RRD here.

Here is AI generated response

.

### Based on what I see in the images:

1. **Photo 1 & 2:**

- I don’t see excessive thorniness, which is one of the hallmark signs of Rose Rosette Disease (RRD).

- The canes look relatively smooth and normal, no witches' broom (extreme clustering of growth) or overly bright red, fleshy stems that don’t mature.

2. **Photo 3:**

- This one shows some dieback and possibly sunburn or physical damage. The clustered growth here does resemble early stress (or possibly minor insect or environmental damage), but I don’t see the extreme witches' broom or wild shoot elongation typical of RRD.

- The red new growth is quite normal for many rose varieties — it’s a healthy sign unless it's distorted or excessive.

### Conclusion:

This does **not clearly look like Rose Rosette Disease.**

What you're seeing might be:

- Normal rose stress from pruning, transplanting, or inconsistent watering

- Insect or physical damage (possibly thrips, aphids, or minor cane borers)

- Some environmental stress (windburn, sun scorch, nutrient deficiency)

### Suggestions:

- Monitor the plant for any *rapid* changes like:

- Extremely thorny canes

- Witch’s broom (tight clusters of growth that look almost like a pom-pom)

- Thickened red stems that stay soft and don't harden

- Blooms that are distorted or never fully open

- If the damage stays localized and doesn’t progress, it’s likely not RRD.

- Consider cutting back the affected parts a few inches below any visible dieback and disposing of them (not composting).

There's no heavy spination nor foreshortened, compressed inter-node stem distances. Early stages of RRV? Maybe, but to be on the safe side, unless that cane is an important structural cane for the bush, I would be inclined to completely remove it at the location where it emerges from the bush's crown.

Discard of it carefully, entirely, and securely wrapped, then placed into your household trash for the next trash pickup at your home. Remove the cane as advised above, and cut it into shorter pieces if needed to fit into your trash container, then disinfect your pruners with bleach.

To be a little less conservative, and if the cane is a necessary structural one for the bush's balance, cut the cane to the desired height (length). Leave the most vigorous shoot per cluster of shoots that emerged from the same node, doing so all the way up and down the cane. Then comes wait and observe period.

If the cane proves to be RRV infected it will surely show the classic symptoms very quickly. They are: persistently red colored small leaves that do not green up properly, short to barely existent inter-node stem lengths (congested, foreshortened growth), and heavy spination. Any buds that form are grossly deformed and if they progress to the flowering stage are small and disfigured.

RRV breakouts are a way of life with rose gardening these days. If you rose garden long enough, you will probably have a breakout. It's sad, horrible, demoralizing, but survivable. Life goes on afterwards, and your joy of rose gardening returns.

Moses.

Thank you everyone for your responses! It helps my anxiety a bit to know it might be ok. I will take a cutting of the weird cane to the county extension office, and see if they are able to test for RRD.

I hope that your county extension office has the knowledge and expertise to diagnose your sample correctly.

Moses.

I've had my experience with RRD a few times and this picture doesn't look like it to me.

Ouch, sorry to hear that! Glad you ask the extension office, not a typical looking RRD.

Elizabeth,

Are you satisfied with their test results? Did they only do a visual inspection of the material which you provided that led them to conclude that the bush is RRV infected, or did they do lab work that definitively showed the virus cells?

If you are satisfied with their results being correct, remove that bush ASAP, yesterday if possible (seriousness of action needed)!

If you can remove the bush in one piece, roots included, and place it into a large enough, heavy duty, black plastic waste bag, do so. But first, spray down the bush thoroughly with cheap hair spray. Let it dry. This should kill/ immobilize any mites. Have the open bag right there before you proceed with the bush's removal. Be careful not to wiggle and jiggle the bush that would possibly knock off any virus carrying mites still left alive. They will crawl to adjacent bushes, and you know what comes next! A possible further infestation of that bush's neighbors!

By my deducing, a majestic, 10+ yrs. old Quietness got hit first in my rose garden. Then, in the same growing season in 2022, it was carried to my nearby, but not adjacent, Lady Ashe, of epic proportions (a sight to see in spring's first flush). They both came out, ASAP. Their loss hit me hard.

If you judge the bush to be too large to remove in one piece, after spraying the foliage with the hair spray, and after it has dried, limb by limb, remove them carefully and with as little disturbance, place them into your open bag.

Next dig the roots out as best you can, and place them into the bag. Seal the bag and place it into your household trash for the sanitation folks to remove to your landfill.

Remember to disinfect your pruners, tools, gloves, etc., used in removing your infected bush.

I am so sorry for your sorrow, but console yourself with the fact that I and so many other rosarians, namely our Roses Forum, Cynthia, have been hit with a RRV outbreak, and dealt with it....and still we are into growing and enjoying our roses. You will, too. Guaranteed! God bless you, and give you strength and peace!

Moses.

Yes, lab work was done, so unfortunately it's certain. I will be removing the rose ASAP. I'm afraid it's too big to bag pre removal, or completely spray with hairspray, I can't reach the tallest canes. I will spray what I can reach however. Thank you for the tip!

The problem with RRV is that symptoms vary. The pictures show excessive and unexpected growth on too many leaf nodes.

The edges of the leaves and the real lack of symmetry on some of them is a bad thing.

What no one had addressed, but many of us have seen is that the emergent canes added together exceed the cross cut area of the one supporting cane. (That happens sometimes with roses growing on fortuniana root stock) but seldom on other root stocks.

I also see some curvature of stems that happens when one side grows faster than the other. and growth happened fast on some as the weight of the canes excess growth pulled the cane down and the new growth adjusted equally fast.

When you've removed the sick canes, can you see if they are on one side of the rose? Friends saved one of their climbers by taking a chain saw to the roots and they cut the roots supporting their bad side. They got ten good years out of the not-bad side.

Ann

Thank you for that explanation! The canes were indeed on one side, the smaller directly under the larger, though from different mother canes if that makes sense? But the bottom cane was so very close to the roots, and I have so many other roses, that I believe I should accept my loss this time.

I'll miss it, it looked so large and healthy, it has so many buds! One is so close to opening, I kind of hope it does before I take the bush out, because I would like to see even one bloom! But it better hurry up and open in the next two days. It's not worth risking the rest of my garden.

I got to see one bloom before we removed it, I'm thankful for that. 🥲

My husband took some more photos of partially open blooms as he was cutting it down. I have to find another Antique to replace it with, it's too beautiful.

Just updating with a little twist my garden threw me. 😂 I was so, so sure it was Antique 89 That caught RRD. But today the rose next to it opened... and it's Antique! The afflicted rose must have been Pink Eden, I got their places mixed up.

Although I still want another Pink Eden now, but it's good to know now which rose I should order. 😅

That Antique 89 bloom is gorgeous (and so is the Pink Eden)!