Vole Damage May be Repaired

13 years ago

My Pink Garnette that has such a lovely fragrance to me, was attacked by voles.

The bush appeared to be leaning over, and when I investigated, I found that voles had eaten at least 90% of the roots.

I was sick about it, but decided it was worth trying to save. I cut the bush back very hard, and planted the few remaining root fragments in good potting soil and brought it into my "rose hospital" under the lights. I also stuck one of the larger cuttings in a another pot of soil, and put one cutting in sand in a half gallon milk jug with a two liter bottle over the cutting.

The vole damage happened a month ago, and all three of the pieces have put out some new growth. I am so pleased since Vintage does not have Pink Garnette now, except by custom order, and I really liked it.

And, I want to thank you for sharing your knowledge. Had I not read about so many of you successfully growing roses from cuttings, it wouldn't have occurred to me to try it.

kay

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Comments (10)

zack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian
13 years ago
That is great news! We have traps in the garage baited with peanut butter-every now and then we catch a vole.
hosenemesis
13 years ago
Good job! I'm so glad you could save your rose. Now you will have three.
Renee
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I've had that problem as well. They come back from the ground, so don't worry about cutting them back too far. I cut away the dead branches and they grow back fine. Next winter, try fencing with hardware cloth.
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I know I'm late to the party, but in case anyone finds this article, I'm here to tell you that I've successfully bridge grafted vole-girdled apple trees - trees that were girdled in November 2013, no less. We had heavy snow early here in the lake-effect snowbelt of west Michigan, which allowed voles to invade my nursery via tunnels in the snow. We had 30" of snowcover, rendering the 24" plastic guards useless. I had about 20 3-to-5-year-old trees that were completely girdled (and many survivors with a barber-pole spiral up the trunk, where they gnawed away in the expansion space of the plastic guard). About half of the victims were on Bud9, most of the rest on EMLA1111. All the damage was done to the scion, so, in the case of the Bud9 trees, I simply cut below the damage, and cleft-grafted scions from the top of the tree in mid-April. All took, and did well. For the EMLA111; I had spare 111 rootstocks I was stooling, and took some of the larger ones (1/4" caliper), and bridge grafted 5 trees. The rest, I cut back and re-grafted. Again, in mid-April (while the trees were still dormant). Of the trees I bridge grafted, two did not take (one was a Sargent crabapple; that might have been a compatibility issue, the other a Smokehouse), and 3 did. I bark grafted two new rootstocks per tree, buried the roots, and wrapped the graft in parafilm (which weathered off by August). I rubbed off any new growth from the rootstocks, and that was it. It was a last-ditch effort, and frankly I'm surprised by the 60% success rate. That's just a long-winded way of saying that it can be done. Give it a shot, it might work. Otherwise, harvest scions and try again.
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Weed30 It sure is upsetting to find your hosta like that. Last year I lost a few, ?? voles. I just put them in a small bucket with water and they grew new roots. What I would do if I had yours, would be split them some and try different methods. Put some in water and plant some with rooting hormone. If you do one thing with the whole plant and it does not work then you lose all the plant. If you split them, you have a second or third chance of saving some of them. I really do think just in water is the best and easiest way to go. Whatever you do I hope it works. Betty
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Well, I had already purchsed the glue traps and they are good for attracting crickets... I found a LOT more damage (more missing dirt but I couldn't tell if roots were gone or not) around the base of the hydrangea when I started trying to fill in the holes. It was harder than I thought to get the dirty into the tunnel. A dozen leaves on the hydrangea have turned yellow. I filled in as much as I could using a hose for pressure and tamped it down on both sides. I plan to keep monitoring it as often as I can to see if the critter is still in there. My neighbor said her cat has killed four little moles/voles (no chipmunks) in the past couple of days. She is the one who alerted me to look for damage as she has holes in her yard.
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karenforroses
13 years ago
Voles are the main culprits in my garden (now that we have an 8' high deer fence). They only damage my roses during the winter when they burrow under the snow and girdle the canes and roots. I don't like to use poison because of the neighbor's cats (I'm afraid they will eat a poisoned mouse and get sick too.) Before I mound the roses I place several mothballs at the base of the rose (I collect them in a jar in the spring and use them over and over for several years). I also tuck in one or two Bounce fabric softener sheets. This combination seems to discourage most voles, but if it is a really difficult winter sometimes even that isn't enough. Anyone out there have any other ideas? It breaks my heart to find one or more roses devastated by voles in the spring when the snow melts.
michaelg
13 years ago
If roots have been chewed back almost to the crown, they will sprout fine roots quickly because it's already root tissue--whereas cuttings have to convert from stem tissue to root tissue.

Step 1-- immediately defoliate the rootless plant to stop moisture loss. Cut back as much as you think appropriate.

Step 2-- pot up and keep in the shade until leaves appear, then gradually expose to sun.

Good work by the kitten.
karenforroses
13 years ago
Michael - thanks for the great tips. I was able to save a Prairie Joy by cutting it back to almost nothing, potting it up and pampering it all summer. It's doing well and I think I'll be able to place it back in the garden bed come spring. My other 'vole victims" didn't fare as well, alas.
organic_kitten
Original Author
13 years ago
Michael,

Cutting it back very severely is what I did to my Pink Garnette. The plant has this lovely new growth.

Karen, someone on the cottage garden forum said she had used a product called Plant Skydd, and it had eliminated her vole problem. This is a product that is produced from blood. (hog blood is one component.) Supposedly, the burrowing pests do not like digging where it has been used. It is a dry product that is in an ingenious package, You pull a strip off of one end of the package to reveal a netting covering it, then you turn the package upside down (a handle is built in to the opposite end) and just shake to sprinkle the product around...you never have to touch it. It isn't cheap, but usually when another gardener uses a product and says it works I tend to believe them much more than an advertiser. One big advantage of Pet Skydd is it will not harm any pet or critter. (Your neighbor's cats would be safe)

I have put out a bait station (made by vole control.) The poison is in an inverted "T" shaped station. The ends of the cross bar of the inverted "T" are open to allow voles access to the poison. The end of the vertical part of the "T" has a screw cap that you open, pour a measured amount of poison into, then re-screw the cap. You anchor the bait station with an metal stake(included) so it can't be knocked about to spill poison. This deterred (killed) the voles in my roses, but I then ordered some of the Plant Skydd and have used it too.

In truth, I also take a pitch fork and puncture any vole runs I find, followed by stomping them flat. I'm not sure I accomplish much that way, but it makes me feel better to take a more active part and I do seem to have discouraged the little devils. (Can't you imagine when the neighbors see this, they think I've lost it? "Look at that crazy woman, what is she doing now?" but that's another story.)

And once again, I thank all of you for the information you so freely share. I am a newbie at growing antique roses, but I love them.

kay
karenforroses
13 years ago
Kay, thanks for the head's up on Plant Skydd - I'll try some and see how it works!
rosefolly
13 years ago
Pocket gophers kill roses the same way in my garden. Last year they almost killed a large, established 'Leander'. I cut it back very hard and rooted cuttings. The original plant recovered. I now have a second 'Leander' growing vigorously on the back fence, and had a couple of extras to give away.

BTW, my new 'Leander' is planted in a wire root-guard cage.

Rosefolly
meredith_e Z7b, Piedmont of NC, 1000' elevation
13 years ago
I just plant in cages now, too. We have so many voles and moles, I'm just more comfortable with the cages. I'm still hoping our big black snakes will come up more to the front yard! I've planted some clever cover for them here and there. Muahaha!
HU-346791646
2 months ago
Good to hear about the Plant Skydd. I am dealing with rabbits and moles (I think). I have interplanted with daffodils, marigolds, lavender, and rosemary. Then i have actively poured a castor oil granule product (Molemax) down any new appearing holes and liberally in any new planting holes follwed by watering. I just started using NitroOrganic biosolids 4-3-0 fertilizer that is supposed to deter rabbits and deer (looks like it could be used similar to Plant Skydd).

Vole Damage May be Repaired

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zack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian

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