The second set of pictures is from a Mme Hardy right next to the hybrid tea. The new growth is lime green with red along the perimeter, also much smaller than the existing (black spot ridden) leaves. This is already such a thorny rose that it's hard to tell if it's got more than it's supposed to. There is a good deal of featheriness on the ends, but no buds and not very much red. Most of the new growth is on existing canes, but there is at least one new cane. I know Mme Hardy blooms on old wood, but should it be sending up new growth right now? This rose also had a poor performance this spring and is now suffering from black spot. None of this would have alarmed me if it were not for its close proximity to the hybrid tea (a couple of canes actually touch the HT).

I know RRD can look different depending on the rose, so I included both. I did use Round-Up on my sidewalks, but it was some distance away from the roses and behind a raised bed. The redness has been appearing a little at a time on different parts of the plant, not all at once. These are the only two plants exhibiting strange symptoms, and there are lots of other plants that were much closer to the spray. We have had a very hot spring after a very cold winter, so it's possible it's just weather-related stress.

I'm sorry this is so long, I just wanted to include as much information as I could to head off any questions and to help a diagnosis! Thanks!

can we see a pic of the whole..

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

ken

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!

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.

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.

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'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.

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