Black streaks on rosa rugosa

Question

My hedge rose is developing black streaks along the veins of the leaves. I have no idea what it is or whether is good or bad. I hope the photo will show up.

 

Answer 1

The picture did come through okay. Unfortunately it looks like a rose virus called Rose Streak. There is no cure that I know of at this time. The infection may end up killing the rosebush if it is truly a virus. It could also be something that was introduced into the root system somehow. Such as some sort of chemical or spray mix that was dumped onto the ground and leeched over to the roses location. I would take this photo or a sample of the leaf structure to a local University Horticultural Department and see what they say too. They may wish to do a site visit of the bushes to check out their overall health.