Rose rosette is a horrific disease
Q: By all accounts, my rose garden succumbed to a virus this summer called rose rosette. It is truly a horrific process to watch. Should I remove the bushes or wait to see how they fare in the coming year? Also, what is the cause of said virus? After several decades of cultivating roses, I have never experienced such a disease. Is there truly no chemical that can counteract this process? — Marty Mehta, Midtown Atlanta
A: If it turns out your roses have rosette, you should remove the bushes immediately. The mites that spread the disease can be active in winter and could spread it to any healthy roses you have.
Unfortunately, the disease is universally fatal; removal is the only way to fight it. We are talking total removal of the plant: stems, roots and leaves. You cannot replant roses in the spot for two years.
The mites that spread the disease are microscopic, which means you should not use a leaf blower which could blow the mites to someone else’s yard. There are no chemicals that can kill the mites. If you want to do rose growers a favor, be on the lookout for other roses that have rose rosette and attempt to tell the owner what I’ve told you.
Q: I’ve noticed spider silk stretching straight across my yard from tree to tree. They look like high tension wires! How do they do that? — John Luff, email
A: You are seeing dragline silk that female Joro spiders have extruded through their spinnerets, located on the abdomen. The spiders build their webs by extruding silk until it catches a breeze, which takes the end to an attachment point. They string bridgeline between other attachment points, gradually building an organized framework from which they can attach the sticky capture silk.
There is a great illustration of this at bit.ly/GAsilk. The threads of silk are incredibly strong and elastic, as you have found when walking in your yard and running into a web. Joros can extrude silk for up to 70 feet, which can obviously make a massive web. Do what many do: Hold a cut branch in front of your face to catch the web before it catches you.
GARDEN QUESTIONS? Send them to Walter at georgiagardener@yahoo.com. Questions with good pictures, if appropriate, are preferred but not required.
