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anntn6b

Rosa multiflora returns with a vengence

anntn6b
10 years ago

For fourteen years my part of east Tennessee has been having Rose Rosette Disease on the 'wild' rose Rosa Multiflora. The disease increased gradually until about half the multiflora between Blaine and Knoxville (about fifteen miles) had RRD. The RRD gradually sickened and then killed the multiflora.

For the past two years, we've had excellent growing conditions and this past winter we were more of a zone 7 than a zone 6.

This spring, the multiflora seeds that were wide spread by bird poop over the past twenty years are now seen as healthy multiflora plants in full bloom. There are more multiflora now than ever before.

Any hope that RRD might reduce the invasive alien species R. multiflora is totally lost.

The multiflora seeds can last twenty years in the ground before sprouting.

If you've conditions similar to east Tennessee, look for the new multiflora plants emerging. That's where the next wave of Rose Rosette Disease will be in the next three or four years.

Dang.

Comments (19)

  • prairielaura
    10 years ago

    Like kudzu but worse.

  • TNY78
    10 years ago

    oh dont get me started on the kudzu...and the wild honeysuckle!! its a losing battle!

    ann...this may sound crazy, but I've never seen r multiflora growing wild near me (seymour area)! maybe im just missing it? I see a ton of the rose with the little pompon blooms that you throught may be Dorothy Perkins. it seems to grow all over the Chapman Hwy area.

    maybe I need to take a closer look :)

    Tammy

  • catsrose
    10 years ago

    Oh yes, I find multiflora sprouting all over. I go out spring and fall with round-up, gloves, snips, shovel and whatever it else it takes to destroy it.

  • anntn6b
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Tammy,
    Right now is when multiflora is blooming in Tennessee. You'll also be seeing a lot of blackberries, but the blackberries have darker green foliage and more scattered white blooms. The mutliflora blooms are in bouquet like sprays and as the heat increases, you'll see bright much lighter green new canes emerging from the bushes and growing about two feet further out on the bush than the parts that are bloom laden.

    Where to look: on roads that have been there for twenty years or so. New subdivision roads not so much. I'd expect the Seymour to Maryville road to have quite a bit, esp along grazing fields and where creeks cross the roads.

    You really need to check the area upwind of your home, really really check.

    Good luck.

  • buford
    10 years ago

    I first noticed them last year. I don't know if I just didn't notice them before or they weren't that prevalent. It's possible the drought conditions we've had on and off kept them down. But they are certainly blooming this year with all the rain we've had. I do live in a newer subdivision, so they aren't THAT close. But I've had 2 RRD roses so far, so it can reach into my yard.

  • rebeccah_2009
    10 years ago

    I have Rosa Multiflora here. I also have a rose with RRD. Is Multiflora causing it?

  • anntn6b
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Multiflora doesn't cause RRD, but multiflora is a host plant that often gets RRD. The mites that are the RRD vectors seem especially 'happy' to live on multiflora when it's sick with RRD and they spread out from sick plants to other roses.

    Take a look at the FAQ in my RRD e-book.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Rosette E-book

  • TNY78
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the info, Ann. We are building right off of Boyds Creek/411 (the road between Maryville and Sevierville that you mentioned). Ill be sure to take a closer look.

  • harborrose_pnw
    10 years ago

    I went to college in Maryville. That is a beautiful area to live, Tammy.

    I hope you all get the multiflora under control, but that sure doesn't sound good, Ann. Gean

  • eahamel
    10 years ago

    I'm so glad that doesn't grow where I am! We have another invasive, bracteata (called McCartney Rose), though. It was brought here by settlers now it's everywhere, though I don't see it often in the city (Houston).

  • TNY78
    10 years ago

    Very cool, Gean! We were just down in Maryville tonight having dinner :)

  • harborrose_pnw
    10 years ago

    There was this old ice cream shop that I used to go to when I was in college somewhere in Maryville, not too far from MC, I don't think. Friends drove, I never had a car. I loved their peppermint ice cream. I've been back to visit once since I graduated and that ice cream shop was still there, maybe about 7 years ago; it would be so cool if you'd been there, Tammy. Anyway, look for it when you move there! Good luck with your new house! Gean

  • TNY78
    10 years ago

    I'll be sure to look for the ice cream shop. We currently only live 15 minutes away near Seymour, so we're not moving far. My husband is from Blount Co actually (Rockford)...I'll have to look for it and report back on whether they still have the peppermint ice cream :)

    Tammy

  • harborrose_pnw
    10 years ago

    Tammy, I found it. It closed in 2006; it was the old Kay's Ice Cream on Broadway. It's now a little sandwich shop called Sweet Celebrations. Oh, well. :( Gean

  • anntn6b
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    OT: Kay's ice cream flavors are now available at Food City as part of their efforts to keep old favorite brands around.

    Re multiflora: we drove over to Asheville on Saturday for their rose exhibition and to give several talks there. The multiflora along I-40 (two counties north of Tammy) is much more common than it's been in past years.

    A lot of the further spread of multiflora is because fences are not kept free of trees and shrubby growth. Birds sit on the trees and poop and multiflora seeds pass through bird guts unaffected but for the addition of a bit of fertilizer.

  • frank1959
    10 years ago

    Help with Multiflora rose please.
    My veterinarian recommended some extract I could try as remedy for my old dog. I need a couple ponds of multiflora fruits and I see on the forums there is some in Escambia county, FL, and in the area of Beetwen and Lawrenceville, Georgia. Could you please give me some precise directions on where exactly to find some plants? Thanks, Frank
    I live in Lake City, FL.

  • anntn6b
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Frank,

    Multiflora seeds have just set and will require a couple of months to mature.
    You might contact the county extension agents for those counties and if they can't help, contact the folks at the Herbarium at UF/Gainesville. There should be a herbarium at the Botany Department.

    IF they can't help, how mature do the seeds need to be? And how many?

  • frank1959
    10 years ago

    They need to be ripe, probably mid September is the time to pick up. I would like to get 2-3 lb. And I am willing to pay.
    Thanks, Frank

  • frank1959
    10 years ago

    So, any offers of help?
    I'll pay $100 plus shipping for 2-3 lb of multiflora hips.
    Frank

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