I think the video is very misleading. Pine voles do not live in lawns and nor do I believe they use mole holes. They live in the soft floor of the woods often the needles of the pine woods...hence the name pine vole. They do not even eat grass but rather they are like little beavers that gnaw away at roots the way beavers gnaw on trees. They have thick heads with big front teath and tiny little eyes and they almost never go above ground. They don't even tunnel like moles but rather sort of force their way through the loose surface material and they do not I believe get deeper than about two inches. Thick mulch is a perfect environment for them because they can force their way through it easily. When they attack a rose they don't actually go after the roots because they are much too deep but rather gnaw through the cane usually about 1-2 inches below the surface causing the rose to topple over. Obviously if the rose is on its' own roots or has the bud union below the stub possibly with its own roots the rose will probably survive. If it is a grafted rose gnawed off below the bud union the rose is doomed. There is another type of vole called the meadow vole which I have never seen where we live in CT that is more like a mole and lives in lawns but to my knowledge this type of vole is not a threat to roses.

(Darlene - forgive me, not helpful I know, but I couldn't resist!). Since my smallest cat Lizzy has not been in your garden, it can't have been her, but she does eat rose and other flower petals in my garden! We take our three cats out for walks in the garden on leashes every day. The other two eat grass, like proper cats. Lizzy likes flowers! Yesterday I watched her go up to a large Morning Glory blossom, and contentedly eat the entire thing! She loves to eat roses, too. She stops after one, and we don't spray, so I let her. It is so funny to watch! She is not interested in the poisonous ones like the foxgloves - cats have a lot of sense! Sometimes she just sniffs them - like Ferdinand! Jackie

The deer that visits my yard will eat all the buds and leaves off my roses and leave bare stems. After a complete denuding, the rose may not recover enough to survive the next winter. The deer go after the tenderest hybrid roses and tend to leave the wild brambly rose alone. They prefer the 'soft' rose plants to the old hardy heirloom varieties. Sometimes, I can repel the deer by spraying the plants with a repellent called "Repels". That repellent must be re-applied after each rain. Once marigolds are established (have developed a root system), the deer will eat the rose leaves and hydrangea buds in preference to the marigolds. So far, they have left the petunias and phlox alone. Oddly, they do not touch my peonies., but these bloom only once in early summer for about 2 weeks and then are done for the season. For the rest of the year, peonies are just a bush. Since you have a fenced yard, the best repellent is a yard dog living in a dog house in the yard. All it takes is one 'yap' out of the dog to scatter a whole herd of deer.

Thanks for taking time to respond, Ken. Your phrase about loving my plants to death made me giggle. I used to groom dogs, and that's the phrase we would use when referring to morbidly obese pets lol! It makes total sense to apply it to plants too. I appreciate you letting me know that I had latched onto incorrect information. I had planned to fertilize the roses every two weeks because that was what several websites said that they needed when I was searching for care instructions. It didn't quite make sense to me, but I wasn't sure if the minis needed extra attention since they are in pots for the time being. I have a full sized rose in the garden that is doing exceptionally well with minimal time investment on my part. I water it, prune it, deadhead when I remember, and put new mulch down every year but that's the extent of its care unless I see it's having an issue. I live in southeastern Louisiana, so blackspot and powdery mildew are common issues for some gardeners down here. These little ones will go into large containers when it's time for them to move outdoors. I am originally from Georgia, and am planning to move back home this fall to be able to spend more time with my dad. He's in the early stages of liver failure and has RA, so he'll probably be needing some help managing his home before too long. I am planning to take my little roses and some gardenias I've grown from cuttings with me to plant at my new house. Thank you for the link to the "shrubbery" (sorry, total Monty Python fan here lol) instructions. Summer down here is no joke, the sun can and will bake plants to a crisp in no time if I'm not careful. As for your new addition: I'm sorry for not being sorry lol! I was cruising through minis on the Heirloom Roses site and was in awe over the many different colors they have to offer. I saw striped ones like the one you picked up and they do look quite glorious! I signed up to be notified when Cafe Ole becomes available again, I thought it was such a beautiful color and am excited about the prospect of it being somewhat fragrant. There were others that I added to my wish list as well, I'm a sucker for the apricot, orange, and coral colored varieties. Innocence and Violet Mist really grabbed my attention as well. I'm glad to hear you'll enjoy your new plant, when I got mine they were also discounted. I got them a couple of days after Valentine's Day from Wal-Mart for around $2.75 as well. Chris had asked me if he could treat me for the occasion and I had told him no, but when I saw the roses I changed my tune lol! Their roots were also not very long, but that may have been because 2-3 plants were crammed into each 3 inch pot. Only time will tell how well they develop, but in the meantime they're bringing me a lot of joy! Thanks again for your time and knowledge!