I have a Chicago Peace rose, and last fall one of the buds about 10"
up from the graft mutated and put forth one of the weirdest looking
roses I have ever seen. When a leaf unfolds, it is almost without
pigment, and is strangely shaped (5 leafs, but they are long and
narrow). It has bloomed several times, but the blooms seem to have a
difficult time opening.

I did not cut it back last fall and it seems to be surviving the
winter okay. In the spring I am going to attempt to root some of it
as well as graft some of it onto two pieces of rootstock I have
growing.

I told my wife if I kept it I would have to name it "Munster"(like the
TV show).

Thanks all, Rogerx

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

Check it out on Baldo's page and see if you think this is what's
happening to your rose:

http://www.sactorose.org/ipm/83roserosette.htm

Hey Scratchy, it does not fit many of the symptoms , but it is close
enough on some that I am going to get rid of the thing tomorrow.

There is a good article by the VirginiaCooperative Extension . with
more pictures at:
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/plantdise...0/450-620.html

I was aware of the disease, but just never occurred to me, that this
might be a disease. Since only one bud was involved. But no doubt it
is probably some variant of this disease. THANKS, THANKS, THANKS AND
MORE THANKS- - -Rogerx

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.

Check it out on Baldo's page and see if you think this is what's
happening to your rose:

http://www.sactorose.org/ipm/83roserosette.htm

Hi Rogerx,

I wasn't sure about the lack of pigment in the foliage you described,
but the description of the long narrow leaves and the strange buds was
what got my blood pumping. An instant vision of decimated roses went
through my head. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

I noticed after I posted the link to Baldo's page that he still hasn't
corrected the page and information for RMV appears under the photos
instead of information about rose rosette, so thanks for the link.

You might want to take a sample up to your county extension office to
get confirmation. Even if you don't want to risk waiting before you
destroy the plant, you'd recognize the symptoms for what they were if
it ever happened again.

scratchy
Zone 8 TX (near Austin)

On 30 Jan 2005 16:50:44 -0800, "scratchy"
wrote:

Hi Rogerx,

I wasn't sure about the lack of pigment in the foliage you described,
but the description of the long narrow leaves and the strange buds was
what got my blood pumping. An instant vision of decimated roses went
through my head. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

I noticed after I posted the link to Baldo's page that he still hasn't
corrected the page and information for RMV appears under the photos
instead of information about rose rosette, so thanks for the link.

You might want to take a sample up to your county extension office to
get confirmation. Even if you don't want to risk waiting before you
destroy the plant, you'd recognize the symptoms for what they were if
it ever happened again.

scratchy

Hi Scratchy, I THINK I PANICKED, But if this is the case there is an
important lesson to be learned here.

I am going to replace the Chicago Peace, partly as a precaution and
partly because I have a "Blue Girl"coming that would go nicely there.

I went back and read the article again from U of Va. The 4th
paragraph dealt with mutations caused by herbicides . Wouldn't you
know it, I use both herbicides mentioned. Roundup, and my Weed-n-Feed
Has 2,4D in it as well as some weed killer in a spray bottle. One
thing that convinced me that it was the herbicide is that the wood
and thorns were normal.

Regardless, your vigilance taught me 'TWO" lessons, and I thank you
for them.- - -Rogerx
Zone 8 TX (near Austin)

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.