Hi, 

This appears to be just the new growth of the rose. Some roses have reddish new tips that fade to green when they come out. It doesn't look like a virus to us at this point, like rose rosette, but definitely keep an eye on it to see if the thorns become excessive or you start to see the symptoms of witches broom which would let us know for sure it was rose rosette. You can learn about symptoms on the link provided. The pdf link at the bottom of that page will help explain symptoms too. If it does have a virus unfortunately there isn't a treatment to use for it and it should be removed. 

You can also look at Rose Identify and Manage Problems webpage to be on the look out for other issues with your roses. 

Let us know if you notice more strange growth and we will help address it further. 

Emily

Thank you for your answer.

Hello Alba,

We don't see indications of witches-brooming or rose rosette disease in the photos. You can keep an eye on the plants this summer to see if they develop more blatant and concerning symptoms. Wiches-brooms are going to have very congested stems all originating from one point, and while the young leaves can be reddish, this is not a trait unique to rose rosette virus, plus as Emily mentioned, young rose leaves are normally red. The thorns pictured do seem more slender and numerous than normal, but by itself, this is not a guaranteed indicator of viral infection.

Miri

Good afternoon, 

Hello Alba,

Thank you for the follow-up photos. The symptoms have now become quite clear and indicate, unfortunately, that this is indeed Rose Rosette Disease. Since it's incurable, the plant needs to be removed (it's ok to compost if you want). If you want to replant, a shrub other than another rose would be fine to plant there as this virus does not infect non-roses.

Miri

Thank you for your support.

You're welcome.
No, you don't need to remove the entire root system if you are unable to get it out of the ground. If any roses are growing close to this plant, if their roots merged/fused, there is a risk of the pathogen contaminating them as well. If not, then there is nothing to worry about, and since the virus needs a living host to persist, it will not remain in the ground after those rose roots die out. Most plant roots (including shrubs) lie in the top foot or two of soil, and radiate outwards from the center of the plant, so when digging you'll likely find that they spread out width-wise (getting finer the further from the main stems they go) and don't get too deep. The soil is not contagious so you don't need to remove it in order to replant or to protect any remaining plants.

Miri