I used the Root Guard wire rose baskets that you can buy at any hardware store here in Calif. They come in different sizes. I think they have 3/4 inch holes in the wire. I use them for gopher protection, which are bigger than voles so can't get through the holes. I have moles but don't have voles. The baskets have lasted more than 10 years here. Black plastic pots would be too hot around here.

Someone who posts on the antique roses forum very frequently,(sorry can't remember who) plants in big 15-20 gallon nursery pots, the wide ones. She drills extra drainage holes in the sides and bottoms and then sinks them into the ground. I'm pretty sure she is gardening in CA. Another person, (maybe Roseseek, Kim Rupert?) accidentally found out that the moisture control crystals actually kill gophers, when mixed in the soil around the roots. I'm not sure if it's the same for moles/voles, but maybe worth searching the forums for.

I feel for you, enchantedrosez. There is nothing sadder than going to bed at night after viewing your beautiful mature rose bush, and then seeing the entire bush drooping and lifeless the next day without a bit of root left. I am so tired of dealing with gophers, it makes me sick. I use the Root Guard baskets like caflowerluver, but the openings would be too large for your critters, I'm afraid. Lisa

I used 1/4 inch, never had a problem since...

thanks everyone for your sympathy. This is very frustrating. I have enough trouble keeping my roses alive over the winter due to weather without voles eating them. Fortunately they don't eat my roses year round.

I looked into the gopher cages. I think the holes are way too big at 3/4 inch since voles are small like mice so that isn't an option.

I don't think the black pots would get too hot here since they would be completely underground.

Nipstress-thanks for the tip on Soil Moist. I'll definitely try adding this into the soil before planting plus the crushed oyster shell. I'm also going to spray with peppermint and see if that helps. My daughter gets mice or voles, don't know which, in her car and the peppermint seems to keep them away. I just don't know if it will last through the winter.

@Steve- do you use galvanized wire or regular? I can only find regular and am concerned it will rust in a couple of years. I might use it though with the pots as added barrier.

This is WAR!!!

Sharon

Nippstress- I just found the Soil Moist with Mycorrhizal added at Amazon. A double score. Read that voles help spread Mycorrhizal through the soil. One microscopic silver lining to an otherwise vile creature!!

Cool, nice to get double duty out of the process, enchanted rose. If you buy a lot of the soil moist type product, I get mine bulk from Watersorb at https://watersorb.com/. Two pounds (32 oz.) of medium sized crystals costs only $20.95, which is about what I'd pay for an 8-10 oz. size of Soil Moist. They're a lovely small company to deal with, and I tend to buy this 10 pounds at a time. The company is ecologically minded and have a discussion on their home page about how the product breaks down in a neutral PH without toxic residue.

Cynthia

Cynthia- thanks for the link. I paid $16 per lb from Amazon so bit steep. But I needed Mycorrhizal so at least I won't need to buy this too.

Sharon