A Knockout Rose infected with Rose Rosette Disease has irregular growth with thick elongated stems and a multiplicity of thorns. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Knockout roses, Madison’s signature plant, have surrendered to the curse of over-planting. Madison Beautification and Tree Board is coordinating removal of diseased roses on city property.

Many Knockouts contracted Rose Rosette Disease.

Beautification members “have directed Madison Public Works crews to pull the popular, profusely blooming rose bushes from (numerous) city-owned landscapes,” spokesperson Meredith Kilby said. The board surveyed the roses and found only a few mass plantings without disease.

Crews already have removed infected roses at Fire Station 1 on Mill Road and Madison gateway on Hughes Road. During fall, rose removal will continue in areas like the fence-line on Gillespie Road near County Line Road.

“We had hoped to get things pulled and replanted earlier in the year, but it’s actually much better to establish plants in the cooler, rainy stretches of fall and winter,” beautification board president Karen Lawler said.

The board encourages individual homeowners with affected roses to stay informed and act as needed with resources from Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES.edu).

“Plans are underway to replant with shrubs, grasses and perennials that will be pleasing to the eye, beneficial to insects and wildlife and easy for city crews and contractors to maintain,” Lawler said.

Lawler and the board re-prioritized the 2015 budget on replanting initiatives ahead of other projects. They canceled the annual Beautification Awards Luncheon this year. “We owe it to Madison citizens to use their tax dollars wisely (to) have the most impact. We felt pulling roses needed to take priority,” board treasurer Julie Ray said.

Mass plantings taught a “lesson on hazards of monoculture, or planting the same plant in high concentrations,” Lawler said. Rose Rosette Disease virus spreads by tiny eriophyid mites and travels by wind to nearby roses to feed on sap of tender shoots.

“Madison Beautification and Tree Board is a hard-working group of civic-minded individuals who volunteer their time, energy and wisdom to keep the City of Madison ‘Clean, Green and Growing!'” Kilby said.

The board meets monthly on third Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit madisonalbeautification.org or Facebook/keepmadisonbeautiful.