On 30 Jan 2005 14:50:25 -0800, "scratchy"
wrote:

Scary. Sounds like witches broom (rose rosette) to me. If it is,
destroy the plant. It can kill all your roses in short order.

Well, not necessarily. If you catch it quickly enough and can prune
back almost to the root union or the place where all of the canes
converge, you might be able to stop it. From the research that I've
done, it takes some time for the virus to travel down the cane and
infect the entire plant. My climbing Old Blush had something that
others around here (and experts on the web as well) identified as
probable rose rosette. I pruned the cane way back and haven't had
another problem yet, but the "witches' broom" occurred somewhat late
last year, so I'm still not out of the woods, so to speak. But I
haven't had another occurance, so I'm hoping that I caught it early.
The thing is, it has to reach the base of the plant and get into the
root system in order to spread to the whole plant.

Also, keep in mind that it's not that the virus is "catching", in the
same way that it is in humans. Basically it spreads through mites.
There could be a situation where you might not have a "mite problem"
but you might get infected by a stray mite that has come your way
(it's been said that mites can actually travel for miles through a
thunderstorm, for instance). Still, a miticide is called for if
something like this happens.

So, while it's certainly a big cause for concern, it's not a reason to
totally panic. If the witches' broom is on multiple canes, then it's
probably wise to dig up the plant and get rid of it by either burning
it or bagging it up in a sealed plastic bag, although I have to wonder
if that's a good idea because it might transmit the disease to another
area of the county if it causes mites to spread from the landfill
(burning is usually impossible for most of us though).

All of this info is just my interpretation of what I've read and been
told, so take it with a grain of salt.