Another garden help question

[vanyel]

I admit it - I've neglected my roses this summer. They're on the side of our house that I don't go to much and...you know the excuses. Anyway, the other evening, I was wandering the yard and went to see if I had any roses to cut for the house. I found - mutant roses. Anyone know what this might be and why it happened? They remind me of a sci-fi movie. Hope the pic is ok - it was dusk and I need to take pics in the daylight.

By the way, it seems to be happening to all the new growth on the plants. I haven't cut anything off yet - unsure what it is and what to do.

 

[vanyel]

No one has any ideas? The leaves are smaller and bushier and there are tons of thorns. It almost looks like branches are entwining around the stem. I inherited these roses from my dh's ex-wife so I'm not overly attached but I do like them.

 

[Binkrin]

Wow, I have no idea! That is one scary looking plant!

 

[PrincessMommyof2]

Is the picture you took from a shoot coming from below the ground? If so, it's a sucker. They're good for burying to discourage neighborhood kitties from leaving presents.

 

[vanyel]

No, it's on the top - new growth. I'll take a better picture during the day.

 

[PrincessMommyof2]

Sorry, didn't see that line below the picture. I have no idea! Where is Ursula? She will know!

 

[DebºoºS]

Looks like rose rosette disease to me. Rose rosette disease is a virus that is spread by a mite. You might try Sevin. Every 2 weeks till Sept. Do a search for rosette disease maybe there's a newer treatment for it.
Good luck.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

If it is rose rosette disease, you must remove and destroy the plant. Once infected with the disease (suspected of being a virus, but not proven), you can't cure it. You can keep it from spreading by spraying other plants with an insecticide, but it's suspected that even little pieces of the roots left in the ground may carry the disease to newly planted roses, so don't plant any new roses in the area. Here's a helpful link...http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/plantdiseasefs/450-620/450-620.html

 

[vanyel]

I looked at the site you gave me and the pictures. Sounds and looks like my bush to the t, unfortunately. I was hoping that it was something I could just cut out to get rid of the problem.

One phrase they used was witches' brooms - the funny thing is I said that it reminded me of Sleeping Beauty and the briars around the castle.

Thanks for your help. I have several other roses in the area that haven't shown any signs of it yet but sounds like a high probability that I'll lose them too.