Aoteroa , going , going , gone !!!!!

After the initial flush of lovely blooms on Aoteroa , nothing , not much new growth , no new buds , nothing , dammn thing ..., in its third year too . Does have RMV , i bought three of them from the same supplier , standards , mum wanted two and hers have RMV too , no new shoots this year either. I'm going to replace it with a Neptune standard , i think , after i pull it out next year . Does anyone know how much dirt should i dig out if it has RMV ? THANKS ..

such a shame maree .. it is such a beautifull rose , mine is doing well so far . its not a crazy bloomer and few there and there

That's a crying shame, maree, especially in their third year with you. I assume your mother's pair will not get the boot, though? Might be interesting to see if they are resting this year, and will roar back next season. Dan is quite right, though - Ao isn't a big producer between the first flush and the autumn buds. Full Sail is even stingier, I've heard.

Maree, for my two bobs worth can we see a photo of your RMV'd 'Aoteroa' please. And before Bruce says anything I am not dismissing it.
As you have said it is not going till next year, could you try something for me. FORCE feed it as much "food" as possible. This is in the production of strong leaf material, not so much nitrogen(need to go and think) which one. I think it will be in a foliar form.

As for the soil, there is no set scientific evidence that RMV is in the soil, so when it comes time to rip out 'Aoteroa' I would just add a bag or two of really good potting mix/compost or whatever the difference is in your soil, if it is clay add sand and vice versa. But I would do this well in advance of the new plant arriving so it whatever material you use can breakdown and 'compost'

What great advice from roseman. Also good info for me - I want to hear which fert you're going to recommend for strong leaf material. Might help to toughen up some of my more blackspot-susceptible roses maybe?

No worries Roseman , will post a photo , and you will let me know what to give it ? Thanks Betsy mum is 85 , she says she's too old to be pulling out roses , so i doubt she will let me pull em out , bless her lol ....