I am beginning to harvest tomatoes in my garden. When you have 50 plants, even if you have a major disease wipe out a bunch, you still have some left to enjoy.
Another disease that you may be hearing more and more about is rose rosette disease (RRD) on roses. It has been identified in the Miami Valley and it kills a plant once infected.
A little history first: This disease was discovered on multiflora roses in Canada and has since been found throughout the United States.
Multiflora roses were brought into our country during the 1930s through the ’60s to be used for erosion control.
This is one of those situations where a plant was thought to be useful but turned out to be a problem. Today is it considered a noxious weed.
We have since learned to be more cautious about importing plants.
The rose rosette virus is spread by an eriophyid mite. This is a very tiny mite that feeds on roses, spreading the virus.
Symptoms of RRD sometimes take a little while to show. A plant may be infected for awhile before the symptoms begin to develop.
The symptoms begin to develop in the spring, as new growth starts. Shoots may be a lot longer than normal and may have a reddish color or appear chlorotic (without chlorophyll, the pigment responsible for the green color).
The red growth can be a little confusing because most varieties of roses have new growth that is red. However, in healthy plants, this growth eventually turns green.
The stems become distorted and gnarled. The stems and leaves may appear stunted and twisted.
One of the most tell-tale symptoms is the development of an abnormal amount of thorns.
Unfortunately there is no control for RRD. Preventing the mites from feeding can be a challenge. They are very small and are difficult to control with sprays.
One control method, particularly in nurseries and garden centers carrying roses, is to remove any multiflora roses nearby, paying special attention to those that are upwind from the roses.
What do you do if you suspect RRD? If the virus is confirmed in a plant, remove the plant and bag it. Don’t compost it.
Make sure that you get all pieces of the root system and the cane, as the virus remains in the roots. If a new plant grows out of the root system or from the graft, it will have the disease that will provide inoculum for further spread.
You can plant roses back into that same spot since this is not a soilborne disease.
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