Black Rosette’s Disease

Deadly . Chance of Amputation . Targets The Weak

Black Rosette’s Disease is caused by a virus in marzipan roses. The virus causes dark purple-red spots on the skin, mostly around flowering parts of the body and tail, which will be visible after 3 months of incubation time. The tail will grow extra thorns that are thinner, softer and reddish-purple in colour. Flowers will drain of colour, may warp, so might the leaves, and newly grown roses will be smaller and grow less frequent at a slower rate, there could even be no growth on infected spots at all.

As the disease progresses the tail rose may let loose and fall off not growing back until cured. If it doesn’t get treated the marzipan limbs will start to die off and might need amputation. This is extremely clear when limbs get progressively darker in colour and less green.

Treatment can be long and strenuous. It consists of taking a medicine called Rosette’s Tear, combined with radiation therapy in advanced stages, after getting surface infected areas removed through freezing and excisional surgery. The medicine looks like a hard candy, which is harvested from the Rois’ bloom. Rois is a flower much like a rose. When it blooms and is healthy, its centre will have a mushy consistency, which is harvested to create the medicine for the disease.

The disease mainly occurs during harsh winters which marzipan roses have issues with and the marzipan rose is weakened.