Knowledgebase
Followup to Rose Rosette Question #757007
Asked June 18, 2021, 11:05 AM EDT
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
Thank you for the new photos. We do not see the excessive thorniness of rose rosette, but that could develop later. The distortion/stunting of new growth, coupled with their somewhat congested look and somewhat thickened flowering stems, is suspicious. The only other likely cause for leaf disfigurement would be herbicide exposure.
If you aren't certain and want to wait and see, virus-infected plants will worsen over time, while herbicide-exposed plants tend to recover, so long as the exposure wasn't too severe. On roses where virus symptoms only appear on part of the plant (which is common in the early stages of disease), you cannot excise the symptomatic stems and keep the plant because the virus is systemic (present throughout the tissues) whether expressing symptoms or not.
Do not trim these plants without cleaning the pruners afterwards so you don't spread the virus to unaffected roses. Disinfectant wipes or sprays may work, as will a 10% bleach solution (though it may need to soak for up to 30 minutes) or 70% rubbing alcohol. While the latter will evaporate, the bleach solution could damage metal blades if not thoroughly rinsed off once sanitizing is finished; because of its corrosive nature it's the least-recommended product to sanitize tools with.
Miri