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toddy89

Help! RRD?

toddy89
9 years ago

Hi

We purchased a whiskey mac tea rose last week from our local garden centre, when we bought it it was all pruned back for winter. However since we bought it it's had something of a growth spurt and I'm wondering if it's got rose rosette disease. It's got tons of new growth on it, all of which is red foliage with no sign of rose buds. There also now appears to be lots of tiny thorns appearing on it. Is this RRD?

I'm new to this and this rose is a gift for someone in rememberance of their son so I don't want to be giving her an unhealthy plant that's likely to perish. Because it was a gift my other half kept it inside for the first 2 days with the intention of dropping it off - could this explain the growth?

Thanks - any help greatly appreciated.

Comments (13)

  • toddy89
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Another image.

  • toddy89
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Another image.

  • toddy89
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Another image.

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    9 years ago

    Wow--you should rejoice. That is one healthy rose eager and willing to grow and eventually bloom. Time to do your HHRD (Happy Happy Rose Dance). : )

    Nothing even remotely worrisome there. RRD symptoms are UGLY. That new red growth is beautiful! By the way, the new growth on many roses will be red for a time. That is normal.

    Enjoy!

    Kate

  • michaelg
    9 years ago

    I haven't grown the variety, but it's probably OK. If so, the lower red leaves will start turning green in a few days as flower buds develop..

  • seil zone 6b MI
    9 years ago

    That looks like perfectly healthy new growth to me. Many roses have red new growth that greens up with maturity. Your leaves do not look misshapen or twisted at all. I also do not see an excessive amount of thorns there. By pruning it way back all they did was trigger it to put out a new growth spurt. That's very normal. I don't know where you are or what zone you're in so I hope you will have enough season left for all that new growth to harden off before winter.

  • toddy89
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you all for your responses. I'm wondering if by keeping it indoors for a couple of days my other half has induced a type of greenhouse defect which has triggered all the new growth.

    I couldn't get a picture of the new thorns coming through but basically the base of some of the new stems are dotted with what are tiny thorns coming through - that's what made me think of RRD.

    I'm in England so not sure whether these will get the chance to harden up. Will it be very detrimental if they don't??

  • aurorawa
    9 years ago

    With RRD, the thorns would cover almost the entire stem, and they would NOT be tiny. Also, the bush takes on a very odd shape (witch's broom).
    As far as hardening, I am a novice rose grower. I know more about rose ailments than I do about proper care; my real life career is human pathology, so studying pathologies sometimes crosses over to my hobbies, gardening included. I am not sure if it will have time to harden off fully, but I *think* that with any young plant, you are supposed to move it to a sheltered area and it should be okay. And don't prune it until spring, when it shows signs of leaf budding. Just prune off any dead or broken branches, wiping shears between cuttings with 10% bleach solution or rubbing alcohol. DO NOT prune now because it will only encourage more new growth.
    According to the RHS site, you can plant containerized roses in ground year round.

    Here is a link that might be useful: RHS

  • michaelg
    9 years ago

    RRD hasn't occurred in the British Isles, so you can rest easy on that score. However, the new growth could take a beating, depending on winter lows.. Nothing to be done about that. The nursery shouldn't have pruned severely that late in the year.

  • seil zone 6b MI
    9 years ago

    As Michael said the new growth won't make it through the winter if your winters are very cold and severe. The only problem with that is that the plant is using a lot of energy to grow those new canes that will ultimately be lost to winter die back. That leaves the plant with less energy to come back with in the spring. I am not at all familiar with UK winters, and I know that there are big differences depending on where you are in the UK, so I can't say for sure if those canes will make it or not for ou. In my cold climate my roses are subject to very long deep freezes and frigid dry winds so those canes would not make it here. If you're concerned about them making it through the winter I would contact a rose society in the UK, I know there are several, and find out what they suggest for winter protection.

  • toddy89
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks so much for the responses. Hopefully the winter will be kind to the new growth. It's fairly mild here still.

    Have finally managed to get a clear picture of the thorns that are appearing on the bases of the new stems. Is this many thorns normal?

    I'm a complete novice to rose growing and this is actually a gift for someone!

  • michaelg
    9 years ago

    Apparently it's normal for strong new growth on that variety. No way you have RRD.

    The two-tone thorns are pretty, aren't they?

  • toddy89
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    They are - just their colouring was a bit unusual so thought I'd best check before giving it as a gift!

    Thanks again all!