By Donna Mason, Master Gardener 2024

Some of my favorite childhood memories center around the “sweetheart” rose that grew in our yard. My Mother had received it as a pass-along plant from a neighbor with a green thumb and a generous heart, and as a child, I loved it for many reasons. Since its buds and blooms were smaller than anything else we grew, I thought of it as “mine”, child-sized as I was. To me, the buds looked like something a princess would have at her castle – delicate, fragile, gentle, and rare. And best of all, it was pink.

But this rose-scented fairy tale eventually came to an end, as fairy tales sometimes do. My father became fearful that the rose and its associated thorns were too close to the in-ground trampoline he had bought for me, surely another possession of every princess on her castle grounds. So he cut it down. I mourned its passing, especially while jumping on the trampoline, and went on the lookout whenever roses were near to see if I could find it again.

Today, I can report that, at least so far, I have not found it again, but I have found and enjoyed many of its lovely sisters on my real-girl castle grounds. When I bought a house, the previous owners left behind almost thirty roses, and I had to either watch them die or learn to care for them. Armed with every pamphlet and publication on roses offered by the Extension Service, I found again my childhood love of the flower and discovered that I also loved taking care of them. When Stuart and I married, I gained a partner who matched me in so many ways, not the least of which was a heart for all growing things, including roses. The story continued, and through the years, our rose collection grew as our yard shrank until we were caring for well over fifty bushes. Did I mention that sometimes, even a fairy tale can get out of control?

But no self-respecting fairy tale is complete without an evil villain, and ours was about to make an appearance. Several years ago, we noticed unusual red and spiky growth on some of our bushes. When the growth morphed into clusters of short branches that resembled witches’ brooms (and how appropriate is that for a fairy tale story?), we knew we were in big trouble. Rose rosette disease had found our world.

According to the Alabama Extension Service, Rose rosette disease is caused by the Rose Rosette virus and is transmitted from plant to plant by the microscopic eriophyid mite. It was first identified in the 1940’s and, to date, has spread to at least thirty-three states. Since the mites have only two short front legs and no wings, their transportation is dependent on outside agents. They travel, sometimes as much as two miles, on air currents or catch a ride on an animal, human, or garden tool. When they land on a new plant and begin to chew, the virus has claimed another victim. Once the disease is present, the best advice is to destroy the entire host plant as quickly as possible by bagging all the clippings, canes, and roots to ensure that no mites escape, causing more damage. We lost twenty-three roses to Rose rosette disease in the space of two years.

But things are looking up again in our garden story. What we feared was another outbreak was diagnosed by the Extension Plant Pathology Lab as chemical damage, probably from lawn treatments. And we are planting again! This spring, we are back up to thirty-seven roses and making plans for more. That might not be a “happily ever after”  for everyone, but it’s good enough for us – at least for now!

Donna Mason is a certified Master Gardener of the 2024 Master Gardener Class, and lives in Montgomery. For more information on becoming a Master Gardener, visit  www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymag@gmail.com