I have a OP Bonica seedling that appears to have varigated foliage. It has mate green foliage with yellow green stripes. Their seems to be no clear pattern to the stripes like you would see in hostas or hermocallis. It is not a paticularly good varigation. Curiosity has much better varigation. I have ruled out pest as a cause to the unusual foliage. My Bonica seems not to have a virus so I am thinking it is a true varigated rose. I will post a picture if I can figure out how. What is your thought could it be a virus or a varigated rose?
Friends who have propagated a lot of cuttings have said that even though the parent plant doesn’t show RMV, often the cuttings show RMV yellow stripes when they are at their most stressed.
Some of the viruses grouped in the RMV designation do have evidence of pollen transport. And for an OP seedling, the pollen could have come from a rose that tolerates RMV, that grows and performs fairly well with some inherent virus.
And have you ruled out either a nutrient deficience or could you have a rose that genetically has a problem taking up a particular nutrient…leading to the same appearanceof nutrient deficiency? If you can borrow a copy of the first edition of Horst’s Compendium of Rose Diseases, the last page in the photograph section has a lot of illustrations of different deficiencies.
True variegation does occasionally show up in seedlings and the markings are genetic, not viral. don’t be surprised, however, if the variegation becomes less visible as the plant matures.
‘Sequoia Ruby’ typically gives me a couple of somewhat variegated seedlings every year.