lovemyhouse said:
Jana, sometimes you just have to be ruthless with a plant that consistently gives a less than stellar performance. I blush to think of when I first started gardening and how many plants I let die from ignorance and lack of care--including a dozen or so Roses. During that time, I also found the ones that would thrive no matter how much neglect they were subjected to. A couple of those are now starting to wane after six or seven years, so , in the next few weeks, I am going to discard what were previously faithful performers (Just Joey and a NOID pink). Which will be unpleasant. However, they will make room for two more that might have a better track record for a longer period. 
Gardens constantly evolve, don't they? 
Debra ...
There's probably no need to discard them. Just wait until next spring and give them a hard prune. Old wood is less efficient than newer wood. Often, a rose that begins to do poorly after several years just needs to be rejuvenated and pushed into producing new wood.
I had a couple of roses I was going to shovel prune this spring and pruned them right to the ground. Then I got sick and didn't get around to digging them up. They started putting up new growth and they are looking look new roses. They are clean and healthy plants with lots of bloom. I have used rejuvenation pruning with a lot of roses, but this is the first time I have ever pruned a rose to the ground !
I am still going to dig it up and give it away next spring, but if you want to keep your rose, a good hard prune won't hurt it. A friend of mine calls it the "Do-or-die" prune.
