My "Brass Band" was purchased in a five-gallon pot, and from the looks of it had been growing there for quite some time (about 3 foot tall). It is now container grown, where it seemingly thrived. Ever so gradually, however, I began to note that each time I deadhead the plant there is dieback in the associated stem or cain. New growth has not kept pace such that the bush has taken on a sickly, semi-wilted appearance. This is not aggressive pruning, just normal deadheading, the same type that my other 50-odd HTs and floribundas receive. As a result of the fact that there is no appreciable new growth, the leaves that remain behind are aging and slowly yellowing from the bottom of the bush up, and the increasingly few buds that open resemble miniatures. It has received the same chemicals and fertilizers that my other roses have, and not on an overly aggressive schedule, either.

Has anyone else experienced the observation that Brass Band does not seem to take well to pruning or deadheading of any kind? I have a plant that despite normal watering and only a mild case of PM looks as if it is dying a slow death. I had this happen with only one other rosebush in my garden this past year, and that was Gemini, another rose that started off strong and reacted increasingly poorly to pruning/deadheading (symptoms were otherwise identical but without any apparent dieback in pruned areas, merely lack of new groth instead). Brass Band, meanwhile, is in another location entirely, and is surrounded by bushes, both planted and container grown, that are doing just fine. Other than a touch of PM I don't see any other disease, and those leaves that are green appear fine other than a slightly wilted appearance that does not seem to change in response to watering or weather.

What could be the problem?

Which nurseries carry Brass Band rose?