"the cat is out of the bag"
Thanks to Ann Peck's email book on Rose Rosette Disease (RRD), she has connected the dots. Because of Ann's passion for roses, years of dedication, hard work and her contributions, we can look forward to the eventual eradication of RRD. She, along with the support of her husband, became a pioneer. Together, they paved the way in getting the word out long before some others would even admit to the existence of this rose murderer. In her e-book, Ann shares her personal experiences, the encounters of others, interviews, photos, symptoms of various stages, treatments and visits to infected public gardens. Throughout the e-book, emphasis is placed on the importance of public awareness being key to effectively deal with RRD.
Friends, it's time to get off the bench, step up to the plate and start swinging. If you
don't swing, you won't hit a home run.
http://www.rosegeeks.com

Margie ....

I read Ann's e-book years ago .. yes, technology has changed since she wrote it, so the site looks quite old fashioned to our eyes today .... , but she WAS so far ahead on this issue and shared her experience to help other people who grow roses because no one else was writing about RRD when she put up her book.

If you look at the first page, it says the book was updated in 2007 !

I, too, think it's important that we share information and get the word out. I am not seeing much information on any of the regular nursery sites, yet I know that there is a major push in industry to research RRD because it is a fatal disease to roses.

Thank you, Margie, for pushing all of us to work to make more people aware of this problem ....

Thank you csandt, HamiltonSquare, lovemyhouse, plantmanager, Steve812 &
sunnyvalley for the thumbs up..
Thank you Rose Blush and sunnyvalley for the acorns.
Please share what you have learned and spread the word.
There are more multiflora roses than cultivated roses.

Do my Grafin Diana aka Dark Desire roses have rose rosette disease (RRD)?
I have two and both have some normal-looking canes with thorns that are mostly more than two inches apart and other abnormal-looking canes with many closely spaced thorns (like RRD photos). These roses came from Palatine Roses in spring, 2016, and are grafted to Multiflora rootstock.

Entire bush:

Cane that looks normal to me:

Cane that looks like RRD to me:

Combination of normal and abnormal-looking canes:


I would like to know whether these two different types of canes are normal for this cultivar or whether the canes with lots of closely spaced thorns indicate probable or possible RRD).

@MargieNY, @gemini_sage, @LisaTice, @Arisyn, all of you have this rose on your plant list. In your garden, does it have two types of canes like mine?

If not, does it look like RRD to you?

I don't recall witches brooms, although I can't say for sure.
No other roses in my garden look like this, which is why I also wonder if this is just how this cultivar behaves.

Carol asked: " I would like to know whether these two different types of canes are normal for this cultivar or whether the canes with lots of closely spaced thorns indicate probable or possible RRD)."

Carol, I went outside to compare my Dark Desire to yours. I would say mine shows a combination as well. I viewed all my photos from last summer and I see no witches broom.

I think the thorny canes may very well be normal for Dark Desire.
I read a post on another forum and a person who has a own root Dark Desire stated: "It is WELL armed with thorns".
I think after reading all this info about RRD we are all looking at our roses in a different way. Thanks for your observations and sharing your concern - better to be safe.

The thorns on mine look pretty consistent, but it only has 3 large, tall canes. That doesn't quite look like RRD to me. Once new growth starts you'll know for sure, but I think if it was infected you would have noticed the deformed growth last fall.

My Dark Desire looks like your thorny canes, Carol. I also got mine from Palatine on multiflora stock. If I had known this rose is this thorny, I would have passed on it. It had pricked me a lot last year.