Joyce-- where do you live? Zone?

I had to look up what a vole was..they're cute! But I can totally see hating them like death in regard to ones garden.

Ryan, Rocky Mountain Version

Ryan, Voles are about as cute in the garden as raccoons are in the poultry yard. Ask me how I know! Voles love Rose roots and tulips. You notice a rose looks like it is weakening, and start checking out the bush and suddenly it just comes away in your hand because there are no roots left and you will understand why voles are not a "Good Thing" in the garden! Fortunately, with that particular rose, I put it in a big pot and was able to induce new rooting on it over the rest of the summer, but now I have planted ornamental alliums through out my flower beds.

voles ate all of my allium bulbs -- actually they'll eat any tuber or bulb, and any plant that's related to roses are on their favorite foods list -- apples, lilacs, etc.

ok, now that we've talked about my little terrors -- how about a yellow amaryllis suggestion??

joyce

I don't believe there are any truly yellow Amaryllis to be had. I'm not sure what zone you're in, but the only yellow "amaryllid" I can think of would be the yellow flowered form of Lycoris.

Other suggestions include late spring or summer blooming Daffodils or Alliums, both available in yellow. There are plenty of yellow Irises or Daylilies available, as well as some yellow Lilies.

Zephyranthes or Habranthus come in a couple of shades of yellow, though these are tender bulbs that won't survive northern winters. If you are in the south, a few of the ginger type plants come in yellow.

For yellows in my garden, I use Rudbeckia, Gallairdia, Foxglove, Yarrow, and of course, Daffodils for early spring.

I'm sorry I can't help further... hybrid Hippeastrum bulbs just don't come in true yellow, as far as I'm aware.

I can't help you with recommendations for a yellow blomming bulb that voles won't eat - but I can recommend a Jack Russell Terrier for vole retrieval. Mine yanks those voles right out of the ground.

I would recommend something similar for rodent patrol... cats only play with and kill one at a time, normally... go-to-ground terriers kill until there's nothing left to kill. They make excellent vermin dogs!

Yellow Allium "Moly" is a nice yellow that voles don't eat, I believe.

I found a yellow lycoris that I have bought and prtestarted in pots. I hope it works out! soft yellows are rather hard to come by, especially in summer. Oh yes, there is another allium relative, it goes by a couple of names but one is something like Ixiodes? "Starlight". IT is related to the brodias too. It has honey yellow little stars in an umbrel, quite pretty. grows from about 1'-double that, depending on how happy they are. THey bloom in June for me. Would yellow callas grow for you? I do not know where in the country you are.

hi everyone,

thanx for your suggestions. we live in a rural part of california so can't have outisde pets -- mountain lions, coyotes, etc.

so that's why i want to plant poisonous bulbs. i know that the voles in my area eat all bulbs that aren't poisonous -- callas are one of their favs. so if not naked ladies, are there other bulbs that are poisonus that bloom in the summer? at this point yellow isn't that important.

thanx,

joyce

I don't know how well Alliums do in your climate, but most small critters leave those alone. I've got my Tulips and Daffodils interplanted with Alliums, and they haven't bothered anything in the bed, yet.

Society Garlic might be another choice... I believe the decorative stuff is called Tuhlbagia, or something similar. I'm not sure of the spelling off hand.

Thanx Jodi!

You're welcome... that's all I can think of off hand... we have several barn cats that do the critter hunting, and for the larger critters like squirrels, my husband does a little hunting to help keep the population at a reasonable number, and out of my gardens. Depending on where you live, whether urban or rural, some of the animal population can be devastating to a garden.

Between our dogs, barn cats, and my husband, our gardens are fairly safe... the only things I've seen digging this spring are the squirrels, and there are only a few. They've been mainly digging across the street, and that's an old cemetery with walnut trees... hopefully, the squirrels will find all the food they need over there!

Plant garlic around and the critters can't smell the bulbs. If they find one, it is by chance. Works for chipmunks and squirrels, too.
In the fall, when planting bulbs, just drop some garlic cloves around on top of the ground. Works well. I'd not have many survivors if not for garlic.

thank you everyone who suggested planting garlic or onions -- but my voles here don't read, so don't know that they're not supposed to like eating these bulbs/tubers. the first year we were here, i planted out over 50 alliums. not a one of them bloomed in the spring -- all eaten :(

joyce

Perhaps it's time to think about eradicating the pests so you can successfully garden. Either that, or hang it up and plant grass.

if only i could jodi -- i live in a very rual area with neighbor who do not garden. so all of their rodents wind up in my yard! i think i'll plant out datura. they're pretty and poisonus. i was just hoping to find a amaryllis that would work.

thanx everyone who answered my thread.

While out and about shopping on Sunday, I noticed that there are several products on the shelves for mole and vole eradication. They had poisons, traps, etc... check out Lowe's or Home Depot... one of those stores should have something you could use.

If you don't have any pets, I'd suggest a good dose of mole poison. I don't think I could quite get along without gardening of some kind... so I would make it a mission to get rid of the little pests!

Instead of yellow, you could always go with a white Hippeastrum... you could probably find something labeled "White Garden Amaryllis" this time of year.

Thanx Jodi :)

Thanx Jodi :)