My climate is different from yours, to say the least, but it is hot and I've found that hybrid musks don't do well for me. If a rose gives me attitude for some years I send it to rose heaven and try again with something that I know will do better like a tea, one of the small Bourbons, possibly an Austin rose or a polyantha. However, your rose doesn't look drop-dead horrible and there may be someone here who can diagnose the problem. I thought hybrid musks could stand quite a bit of cold, and I'm surprised that it dies back completely. You may have just gotten hold of a weak specimen, which has happened to most of us.

My Nur Mahal was planted in October 2015, a two gallon from ARE, and it is not much bigger than yours. That said, the foliage is healthy and it is loaded with buds. Maybe someone else will comment on the yellow leaves. It looks like rose slug damage down to the right - the white spots.

It does look like it needs more sun and less wet. I'd give it another year myself. I have one from ARE which is not looking great right now either. I have a few roses that look horrible in early Spring, then look great when it heats up. I wonder if yours is one of those too. I agree with Ingrid the Hybrid Musks generally may not be heat lovers, but each variety might have some variation.

Is your fence vertical stake set in concrete?

I've found that Nur Mahals own root seem to like my acidic soils so one planted next to concrete might have problems.

Interesting points everyone! Well , we have been getting about 1- 2 spring storms a week. I haven't used the hose at all on it. It never dies completely back in the winter , just a branch or two but that's all it gains each year.

I swore I read here hybrid musks do well in tn, I was on a kick for them but that has faded as one by one they failed to thrive. I have buff beauty and lavender lassie left . Cornelia and Felicia as well . Cornelia is looking awesome , lots of buds . Buff beauty is already dropping leaves ( eye roll .. ) due to black spot.

Deborah please post photos id you remember when it blooms ! You are closest to my climate . We don't get a very cold winter though.

Ingrid I will give it the rest of the summer unless I find a new rose I need to cram in ! :)

Ann I just saw your question. Yes it is set in concrete. Hmm?! Should I move it then ? It's not in a ton of concrete and the rose is a reasonable amount away from it I think but it is in the area .

Hybrid Musks do well here in TN, especially the early ones that were one offs from R. multiflora. (The Pemberton musks and then the Bentalls. IIRC Bentall took over when Pemberton stopped hybridizing.)

Nur Mahal can be excellent here. It that were mine, I'd move it away from anything that could leach carbonates near it. (In Houston, I killed a plum tree by putting it next to a sidewalk, and then learned about its pH preferences.)

FWIW, my fence is also set in concrete only at the anchor points, but I hadn't considered the effect on alkalinity of the soil nearby. Our soil is so darned alkaline anyway that we have to add substantial sulfur to the soil for blueberries to survive, much less thrive, and our hydrangeas are rarely anything but pink or white. I have a vague idea that your soils in TN may be naturally more acidic than ours, so maybe it's the contrast in the pockets of alkaline next to the fence that is confusing the poor thing. In my yard, it's alkaline or die for the most part, though not as dire as desert areas.

Regardless, sympathies on the poor track record you have with hybrid musks, Lilyfinch. There does indeed seem to be factors making this bush unhappy, particularly since you've seen that in other similar roses. Ann is of course your best source of information about your region, and a treasure to us all when it comes to knowledge about RRD as well.

Cynthia

Ok everyone, a week later and I really don't know what is going on. Surely rose slug damage isn't this bad! The only thing it was given was worm compost a month ago and none of my other roses look like this ! I think I'll be removing it tomorrow just in case it had something contagious. I've never seen this in any of my roses , that have died .

Not sure if I should pot it up or just pitch it . If anyone has any idea what happened I would love to know ! :)

So sorry Lilyfinch. It does look horrible. I might dig it up and look at the roots, then rinse it all off if it has roots and pot it in fresh rose potting mix 2-5 gal. It looks like it has drowned or been poisoned. I have used worm castings with great results.

Thanks Sheila . I may pot it and hope it was the concrete as suggested but it was there for two previous seasons .. At least I never personally knew it in its glory so I wont miss it much. Sigh. I should replace the soil too huh ? Or maybe plant a different kind of plant there

The autopsy when you dig it up and look at it may tell you something. Something did go seriously wrong at that spot. I'd figure that out before you plant something else. If it's drainage or ph or poison there could dictate your response.

Thanks ! I'll post an update tomorrow if there is anything recognizable . :)

Sniff the soil - does it smell of sulphur?

Also you might want to rinse the roots thorougly and then soak them in water with an aspirin added per quart. Finger prune off the crappy looking leaves so they don't fall in the water.
It really looks to be a drainage problem...some parts of Tennesse have had Biblical flood levels of rainfall this spring.

No concrete slab can do that to a rose imo.. I too think it might have been drainage. Or something eating its roots.

Oboy, I just decided to try Bubble Bath and it is only feet away from the patio one direction and a fencepost; the soil in our subdivision is near neutral even tho in general SE Virginia soils are acidic. Will watch it closely. Thanks Ann for that comment.

I agree sometimes the problem is a weak plant. Even for slow starters like HM's and climbers I'm ready to give up if they remain runty after several years.

I'm in 8A, temps 80's and above May thru October, no doubt not the best climate for HM's. I've had success here with Cornelia, Vanity, Darlow's Enigma, Lyda Rose and Lavender Dream. I really don't have enough sun to grow roses; my back yard borders a tidal marsh with tall trees. These are doing well in about 4 hours of sun or less. The others coping with shade include the Fairy and Blush Noisette but they don't bloom nearly as well.

Bubble Bath is sure a winner. Fast starter here.

Get that mulch away from the main stem! Your rose is clearly suffocating, among maybe other ills.

I don't think the mulch at the stem would cause that kind of damage, or I wouldn't have any roses in my yard at that rate. The idea of suffocating is entirely plausible, since I suspect either too much or too little water destroying the roots, or some critter chipping away at the roots. Since this has been an ongoing problem that has intensified lately, I'm inclined not to entirely blame the critters though they might have been the last straw. I'm wondering if the concrete serves as a "sink" for moisture holding it in to an unhealthy level and rotting out the roots (in which case things will be smelly at the roots when you dig it up). It also reminded me of a rose that wilted rather rapidly and died during a summer drought for the opposite problem - both kinds of water problems can have similar effects.

Regardless, I suspect your rose is a goner and it'll need to be dug up. Do try it in a pot where you can control the environment and see if it'll recover. Also see if you can plant something else in its place rather than another rose to see if you can identify the problem, since it seems to be a problem with the site rather than the rose itself.

Cynthai

Ok well I dug it out , and there was no smell . I poked around with my shovel and no rocks or anything water could have been on unless it's a few feet deep . However there is a weird thing on the roots but I assume that's just a basal break coming up ? Not sure .

3 ft from this rose is another rose who is doing just fine , so it's a mystery to me ! Thanks again everyone for your ideas . It's soaking in a bucket now and if I have leftover potting mix I'll pot it up bc it does still look ok

The alive cane had a red coloring it , maybe that's it ?

Hmm, that is a mystery as the root system looks pretty fine, and you say there was no smell. The growth at the base does indeed look like a basal break, and the cane doesn't look bad enough at the base to have that catastrophic an effect. The red isn't an entirely happy color, but it's more of a "wait and see" color in my world than an "ick, prune that immediately" color. Maybe it just wanted to get out and see the world more - potting it up sounds like a good compromise.
Cynthia

Lilyfinch, here is a photo of my Nur Mahal today (2nd summer) It is about 2.5 feet tall and about 1.5

Beautiful Deborah !!! Thank you for sharing your photo . I love it's color and the eye of the rose as well. I'll reorder it someday for sure !

I also have rose slugs ugh . But yea I just leave it for now. Hope the birds will take care of it ! :)

Lilyfinch, how did NM do in its pot this year? I'm hemming and hawing over this one.

Hi vapor !! It ended up dying in the pot :( I may order it again , the color was so lovely and I really don't know what the problem was . When I dug it out I put a daylily in its place and some monarda and they lived just fine . If you do try it you'll have to report on it ! :)

Is this a deep red or more of a deep pink? This to go with my other hybrid musks and I didn't want a clashy red. Thanks for any help you might give.

Deep pinky red.

Florentina is a more scarlet red.

Hmmm. Thank you. That's very pretty. Did it BS in the short time you had it? That seems to be my main concern these days. Sheila, I love the colour of Florentina and am putting one all by its lonesome against my stone-coloured garage where I won't have to worry about it! : )

I don't remember vapor ! I generally don't buy roses known to black spot horribly so I assume I did a little research about that ! Haha

I think you need to try again during the ARE sale! ; )

I wish I could ! Did you see my wishlist? It's ten roses long . Haha I have a rose problem! My husband is like , how bout some new clothes for Christmas? Um no thanks I'll wear my pilly sweaters and jeans that don't fit right just give me more roses! :)

Lilyfinch, mine was 60!!!! Of course, that's just dreaming and many are OoStock. I'm limiting myself to 10 and half of those at least are presents. I'm so happy DH suggested that for Xmas! : ) I'm like you; my interest in clothes has gone to ZERO since growing roses. I see everything in terms of how many roses does that equal!

I'm getting some others that are only available fomr RVR and the few that are sold out at ARE, I plan to buy from Burling, such as Excellenz von Schubert, Green Ice and Sweet Chariot. From RVR, I'm getting E.B. LeGrice (on Moses' recommendation), Orfeo, Golden Buddha and another that I forget! Too many roses. It took me all season just to remember those I added to the pack this year.

I worked all yesterday on the split rail and only have a couple more holes to fill and posts to set before I can add the deer netting on top. Then I defy any deer to come on my property.