Thick dark purple stems on tree

[gfranck]

I have 3 "playboy" rose trees and one of them is sprouting dark, heavy, purple stems with some deformation in the buds. What's up? Oh, the stems are really thorny. Nothing is up on the other two.

[grandpasrose]

Can you tell me where on the tree the sprouts are coming from? Are they from the ground? Are they above or below the bud union? Then I can help you more! Thanks!
VAL

[gfranck]

The stems are coming from the top, well away from the tree rose bud.

[grandpasrose]

Many roses when sending out new growth, are purplish red in color. The chloroplasts have not yet developed to start photosynthesis in these shoots. The new shoot growth is being supported by sugars converted from starches stored in the roots and canes.
As the shoots open and develop, the chloroplasts form, which are needed for the green coloring, so then the leaves and shoots turn green, and photosynthesis begins.
Some roses are quicker at this than others, so that is why you see red or purple shoots on some roses, and green shoots on others. It does not effect the health of your rose in any way.

In what way are the buds deformed? How old are these rose bushes?
Not to worry - we'll get this straight!
VAL

[arkansasrose]

May I ask what part of the country you live in??

[grandpasrose]

As you can see by my profile listed beside my author profile, I live in Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada, and I live in Zone 4A.
What part of the country do you live in ? Or should I guess Arkansas?
We have members of the forum from all over the world, including New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, and France, to name a few. There is much to learn from each of us!
VAL

[arkansasrose]

Sorry, grandpasrose, I was asking of the original poster, gfranck, as I certainly saw where you are located and my name is self-explanatory, I suppose. What I had in mind is if the original poster is in an area where RRD is a problem..something I am very familiar with in my area and the symptoms gfranck listed are similar.

[grandpasrose]

Well, that was confusing wasn't it?!
May I ask what you mean by RRD? I'm probably having another brain blank - but it escapes me!
VAL

[arkansasrose]

At least some states or areas in the US are plagued by Rose Rosette Disease, a death sentence for the bush and possibly the entire garden. Its very problematic in some of the east and in some of the plains states and has touched my area in Arkansas as well. The symptoms in the description above are typical but can present in other situations as well. If the original poster doesn't live in an area that has been affected by RRD, then that would eliminate that, or at least lessen the chances. However, RRD continues to spread as some states here have purposely introduced the mites that carry the disease to the multiflora that grows wild, atempting to eliminate that pest in agricutural areas.

[grandpasrose]

I'm glad you brought my attention to that Arkansasrose. I had never seen it identified as RRD before, and Rose Rosette is extremely rare normally, that it didn't come to mind for this situation. But given the symptoms for Rose Rosette, and what has been described by gfranck, I think that you are correct! Thanks so much!

Gfranck - it does sound very likely that your rose does have Rose Rosette Disease. The symptoms of this are:
Unusually dense prickles forming on overly large, deep red or purple canes. New foliage appears distorted and crinkled and deep red or purple as well. Leaf stems appear flattened.
There is not known cure, but known treatment to date is to remove the cane to which the infected stem is attached, and destroy it. If other areas of this same plant appear to be infected than the entire plant must be disposed of so as not to spread to your other roses.
The disease is not known to spread rapidly, and will not transmit by pruning. It is transmitted by infected rootstock.
Once you have disposed of the diseased portion of the rose, spray it with a treatment of neem oil.

I apologize for not being right on top of this one, but it is so rare, it didn't even enter my mind!
I wish you well with your roses - let us know how you make out.
VAL

[arkansasrose]

"It is transmitted by infected rootstock." Actually, that would be the vector for RMV (Rose mosaic virus)..not RRD, at least not at the current time in studies. The latter is transmitted by the mites feeding on the plant. Unfortunately, the little buggers can drift for miles on the wind currents, spreading the RRD fairly rapidly and they are resistant to most chemical sprays. Just an anecdotal thing here, but I have not seen RRD in my garden again since I started spraying Wilt-Pruf with the regular program some 6 years ago. I wish some studies were available to show the efficacy of the WP and hopefully there will be a cure someday.

[grandpasrose]

Thanks for that update Arkansasrose. I'm in the dark on this one as I have never run into it - I guess you're the expert on this one!
VAL

[gfranck]

I updated my profile....I'm really new at this.... I'm in zone 5a. We have had the worst drought in 100 years here, it's like the clouds see us and disappear. I think this is the growth thing not a disease because wouldn't all 3 have it?

[arkansasrose]

RRD was first reported in Illinois in 1986 and no, it would start on even just one cane (that's how I first saw it) and the rest of the bush and even the surrounding bushes would be fine..for a while. There is a lot of information from Illinois and RRD linked here [url]https://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/diseases/series600/rpd666/[/url]

[gfranck]

I'm going out to spray NOW! Thanks!

[arkansasrose]

Okay, before we over react here, may I suggest you get a sample tested..contacting your county extension agent would be a good first step. There ARE other causes for the symptoms you first noted (herbicide damage, etc). If it's determined that you DO have RRD on one rose, the current recommendation is to cut off the offending cane (or canes) if you want the conservative approach..digging out and destroying the entire plant if you take a hard core approach. The only chemical spray that has been effective to a degree to control the mites is Cygon 2E, a very toxic insecticide. I opted to get rid of the roses in my garden and take a "wait and see approach". I started using Wilt-Pruf (an antitranspirant) in my regular spray program and have not seen any further spread of the disease in 6 years.

[grandpasrose]

Thanks, Arkansasrose, for your expertise on this one! What you have written is exactly what I have read about it as well.
VAL

[gfranck]

I am contacting my locale extension. Thanks for the help, you really know your stuff!

[arkansasrose]

Sad to say, the "know my stuff" came from firsthand experience. Please do keep us up to speed on what you find out.

[grandpasrose]

That's how most of us get to "know our stuff" isn't it? I don't think anyone just jumps right in and never has any problems gardening do they? You've been a big help on this one Arkansasrose! Thanks.
VAL