Rose Rosette Disease

Working Together to Grow a City of Roses

If you find some odd-looking growth that is abnormal for your variety of roses it's time to take action to protect the rest of your roses, your neighbor's roses and your City's roses. Remove and dispose of that rose plant. Rose Rosette Disease (RRD) has made its presence known and threatens all our rose plants. The abnormal growth can include witches broom, malformed flowers and leaves, excessive thorniness, red discoloration, lateral shoot elongation, flattened stems and enlarged stems. 

If you think your rose bush might be diseased and would like confirmation, please email a picture and contact information to Urbano Olivas. Urbano Olivas will be happy to assist you in diagnosing RRD. At the current time, there is no known cure or way to prevent the disease. The good news is that it does not affect the soil. With diligent removal of the entire infected plant, roses can be replanted.