there are a lot of severely winter damaged branches in there.. why havent they been cut back???

can we see a pic of the whole..

i doubt the RU had anything to do with it ...

ken

I did cut back quite a few dead branches earlier in the spring but didn't want to get too aggressive. Sometimes a branch appears dead at the bottom but ends up leafing out higher up. I need to do a second round of pruning now that the first flush of blooms is done, but I need to sterilize my pruners first.

Here's the hybrid tea:

Mme Hardy:

And both:

That construction worker across the street must be wondering why I'm taking so many photos of such pathetic looking plants. Does anyone know of any correlation between other rose diseases (black spot, rust, etc) and RRD? These roses have NEVER had problems before and now suddenly they've got it all!

I don't see any RRD symptoms.

Mme. Hardy may have iron deficiency chlorosis.

The hybrid tea probably had all its canes injured by the harsh winter such that they are sort of alive but unable to support vigorous growth. I had to prune many of my HTs to the ground this April, but they have grown back to 3' already.

Looks like normal growth to me.

If you have a branch that is dead at the base, it's dead. It may have enough energy stored to support some new growth for awhile, but eventually it will die. I would cut those off before they spread to the graft.

I'll try to get the iron deficiency fixed and give my pruners a workout today. Thanks for the help!

Two things to consider when you prune. Anything black, brown, or even gray should be entirely cut out.

Especially on the hybrid tea, try pruning back several inches from the tips and look at the inside of the cane. It is glistening white all the way across the cut? Or does it have a tannish mid-section? If the latter, go further down the same cane about 6 or 8 inches and cut it off--check the inside of the cane again--all white? If not, keep going down 6 or 8 inches until you get to completely white. With hybrid teas growing in zone 6, you will often need to cut those canes back to the graft or leave just a couple inches from the ground. Basically then your rose will produce a practically brand new rose for you with the new growth that starts a few weeks later.

(I do not know if that is good advice for Madame Hardy. It is primarily for hybrid teas.)

Blackspot has absolutely nothing to do with RRD. RRD is spread by a miscroscopic mite blown around by strong breezes.
If you want to treat the blackspot, you need to get a good fungicide like Bayer's Garden Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs--available at Lowes or online. You will also need to get a spraying container--about $20 at Home Depot or other such place. Follow directions for use very carefully.

Many roses have healthy red new growth that later turns green. I think it is beautiful!
RRD, on the other hand, puts out truly UGLY growth--witch's broom growth--ugly like a cancer growing out of control.

My best advice is for you to take several slow deep breaths and relax. Quit worrying so much about your precious new roses! (We've all been there--know how it is!)

And patience. : )

Kate

I would add that Roundup applied by spray can drift quite a bit, I have had it drift 10+ feet away from where it was applied. If needed, try applying using a paint brush or the foam version.

Dublinbay - Thanks for the pruning advice. I did the progressive pruning method earlier in the spring. Some of the ones that are gray still showed a bit of life in them, so I left them. Now I think it's pretty clear they can get cut.

I've had these roses for about 6 years (but they've been in that spot for 70+ years!) and had never seen this before. They've always done beautifully with almost NO care from me (I just prune dead branches and occasionally deadhead - no fungicides or fertilizer and no problems). But we also had an unprecedented long, hard winter followed by a very hot spring. Hopefully it bounces back after I prune it - it will look rather silly with just one branch sticking out of the ground!

I knew that RRD is unrelated to the other rose diseases I mentioned, I was just wondering if those problems weakened a plant to make it more susceptible to RRD infection (or vice versa). From all I've read in my paranoia this week, RRD isn't very well understood. I just wanted to see if there was any anectodal evidence to suggest a correlation.

Diane - I'd read that RU overspray can produce similar symptoms (red, stunted growth and feathery ends) so I wanted to acknowledge that as a possibility.

Thanks again to everybody. I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

if your RU .. or any spray is drifting.. its because you are using too much pressure.. and too fine a spray ... do not treat it as french perfume...

fill your tank with water ... and learn how to create big drops .. which gravity will make fall to earth ...

its a function of how many pumps ... tip nozzle adjustment ... and trigger pressure ...

if you learn how to use the tool ... the tank ... then you can avoid all kinds of problems... not unlike any other tool ...

and i just dont know what to tell you.. if you are using the manufacturer type tank ...

less pressure is best ...

ken