Rose Rosette Disease Outbreak: Cygon Treatment and Eradication Protocol

Pennsylvania Rose Garden: Rapid Orange/Rust Spread Confirmed as RRD

50-mile-from-NYC garden: curled red/yellow leaves, wilting, orange ground discoloration spreading across 4 quadrants. Initial fungicide failed. Hard pruned and root-drenched. Expert confirms Rose Rosette Disease (mite-vectored).

Immediate Cygon Protocol

1. Spray ALL roses (mites may be anywhere)
2. 7-day intervals → monthly until leaf fall
3. Resume spring at leaf-out
4. Mites active ~2 months in hottest summer (Jun-Jul)
5. Spray base thoroughly (egg zone)
6. CAUTION: Systemic absorbs through skin

Supplemental

• Pre-leaf-out: horticultural oil or Canola Lite cooking oil spray
• Host plant: Rosa multiflora (check area)
• Hard pruning may have helped (removed infected canes)
• Root infection = dig out completely (tiny root fragment reinfects)

Disposal

BURN all cuttings—mites escape and migrate. Only fire kills them.

Worst Case

Burn all roses, remove soil. RRD spreads furiously; red growth looks normal until too late.