We calculate diffractive photo- and leptoproduction of $\rho$-, $\rho'$- and $\rho''$-mesons. The incoming photon dissociates into a $q\bar{q}$-dipole which scatters on the nucleon and transforms into a vector meson state. The scattering amplitude is calculated in non-perturbative QCD with the model of the stochastic vacuum. Assuming that the physical $\rho'$- and $\rho''$-mesons are mixed states of an active 2S-excitation and some residual hybrid state which cannot be produced diffractively in lowest order QCD, we obtain good agreement with the data, especially the markedly different spectrum in the $\pi^+\pi^-$-invariant mass for photoproduction and $e^+e^-$-annihilation.

Comment: 28 pages, LaTeX2e, 16 ps/eps figures included, accepted for publication in Eur.Phys.J.C; revised v2: one reference added, one typo corrected