How to Prevent and Control Rose Rosette Disease (Witches’-Broom)

Mention rose rosette disease or that your prize specimen has an unusual witches’-broom growing on it to another rose lover, and you’ll likely see a look of horror.

Just the mere mention of this disease or its common symptoms is enough to send terror coursing through a rose grower’s heart.

That’s because this disease is absolutely devastating, turning your shrub into a disfigured, weak little thing before killing it outright. And there is no cure.

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So what can you do? Just give up on growing the various Rosa species and turn to something else like peonies? Don’t abandon your rose garden dream. There is lots you can do to manage and prevent this increasingly common problem.

In this guide, we aim to clarify what causes this disease and what you can do about it, because believe me, I know how calamitous it can be.

I lost more than one shrub before I figured out that there was more I could do beyond ripping out my plants and considering a different hobby. Here’s what I’ll cover, coming right up:

Rose rosette disease (RRD) is such a problem that experts around North America have joined together to try and figure out a solution.

Experts associated with big names like the USDA, the University of Georgia, the American Rose Society, the University of Florida, Monrovia, and Texas A&M are all working to improve testing for RRD and to breed resistant cultivars.

But you don’t have to wait for them to start addressing the situation in your own garden.

Ready for a quick biology review? This disease is caused by a virus, which is a microscopic