I see this is an old thread, but in answer to the original question, yes the wire will girdle the roots and kill the trees; I have first hand experience in Central CA and about 16" annual rainfall. Galvanized wire does not readily rot out...not for years and after 15 years at my place it's still there. Plain steel wire in the necessary thin gauge is hard to find as poultry mesh. Note there may be some species that can create new tissue around the wire but I have never seen a list and don't have the time to experiment. I have seen trees grow around barbed wire fences but I have never cut one in-section to see if the tree's phloem actually healed over the wire or if it just looks that way and since the wire was straight it did not ring-bark the tree. For sure we lost our apricots and walnuts. I have one large sycamore (no basket) next to three stunted sycamores (with baskets). When we realized this was happening to the fruit trees, we carefully dug around 1/2 the tree to the wire basket and carefully cut the wire around the roots. Then we waited for a season for healing the disturbed 1/2 and then cut the other side. All in all it seems a day late and a dollar short because the orchard growth stalled. We now plant new trees in oversized holes lined with thin, 1" concrete pavers, extending a couple inches above the top of the soil while being careful to make sure no holes larger than 1/2-3/4" exist between the pavers. It seems to be working extremely well. We have not had any issues with gophers jumping over the top but if we do we will simply place something on top of the soil around the tree. Our theory is this: Once a paver is buried in the ground, it's very difficult or impossible to move without a large enough hole created by the gopher to allow it to shift. We surmise gophers can't think the mechanics through and are not generally that lucky to stumble upon the solution. I suppose if the gopher chose to make it's primary burrow right next to the pavers, one could fall out of place. The tree root, however, can get through the holes between the pavers and slowly push the paver out of the way as it grows without being ring-barked/girdled. I think of roots growing under and buckling a sidewalk to visualize the power of a root. To date, we have had great luck and no girdled trees. So, what about cost? Well, the argument that a hundred dollar hole might make a thousand dollar tree and a 10 dollar hole might kill it is a good one. I happen to have a ready-supply of paver off-cuts and rejects to keep my cost down. We have speculated about what to do to keep the costs down and have thought of many alternate ways while keeping the original concept intact: a lined hole where roots can grow through the liner but gophers cannot get at the young tree to do their damage When the day comes for me to make a hole and line it with something different than pavers to save money, I plan to try this one first as a cost-saver: Dig an oversize hole with sloped walls. Mix up some inexpensive fence-post mix, or stucco, or a home made mix (add some extra sand to make it go farther –it can be a weak mix). Make it a stiff-mix and line the hole with the mud, making an in-ground bowl, more or less. Then cut or score deep lines in the firm mud in a large grid (6"?) so as to allow the bowl to break to bits once dry. Now poke holes through the mix where the lines cross; it's these holes that will serve as drainage and for the roots to grow out of so be sure they go all the way through. We thought of pounding in wood stakes while the bowl set up for awhile and removing prior to back-filling the hole. We speculate, too, that if it were a really weak mix ( 1 part cement to 10 or 12 parts sand) that poking a bunch of holes in the mud is all that would be needed (no scoring lines) and the tree would win the day at time of breaking. None of what is done in making the lined hole needs to be pretty, it just needs to confound the gophers and allow the tree to bust-its-way out. It's labor intensive, like the pavers, but no too costly on materials. The hole can be filled with soil when wet, and the tree thus planted, too, so it should be fairly fast. Again, you can cap the buried bowl with wire if your gophers like to travel over-land. One component I would like to add would be sprinkling something on the fresh mortar to counter the change in PH while the bowl cures underground; perhaps acidic Redwood mulch? What other ideas are out there? How about up-cycling flattened tin cans from the recycling bin and lining the hole and letting them compost? If anyone has an idea on how to make a lined hole where roots can grow through the liner but gophers cannot get at the young tree to do their damage, I'd love to hear it!

This came from Kaye in Arkansas, and has worked well for me for many years. I buy a roll of hardware cloth that is 1/2" squares. We cut a section that is 12" tall and 4 feet long. Set it into the hole so that an inch or two are out of the ground. My big mistake has been to be careless putting in the soil. If you do not water it down first, after a year or so, your rose will sink. Digging out a foot of soil is a chore, and packing it in can tend to be a careless procedure. Kaye mentioned not too long ago that you should plant the rose a little high in anticipation of it sinking a little. I don't like poison. We have a creek behind our house, and the critters have found my garden. We will always have them, and I don't mind trapping them or killing them outright, but poisons bother me. My first venture with the hardware cloth was to try to put it around the entire bed. What a mistake! Critters can easily step over it, and go right back underground. The four feet length in a circle seems to work well One warning is to watch your roses carefully to be sure they do not rub the top of the wires. If that happens, the wound can become a canker, and then you may have to cut a beautiful long branch. Sammy

Hoovb, I think you're exactly right! I went to Bing and found a photo of an infected rose that looks exactly like the one I took cuttings from. It had more of the pink on it the second day than the first, and that's probably an indication that it was spreading on the blooms. This isn't a systemic infection, is it? Would I be propagating infected plants if I root the pieces I cut?

Kasie - I've tried the traps. I bought 2, and have set them each about 20x. Not one single gopher. I have found the "giant destroyer" brand bombs that seemed to be working, so I'm not giving up on gassing. The putzy red and black ones they've been stocking at HD and Lowes have been useless - I end up digging them up, un detonated. If (when...sigh...) this happens again, I will try to see if I can get rootstock to again produce roots - mostly as an experiment. I've tossed 2 of my losses: Angel Face - WILL replace, Tantalizing Red - will not replace, then Pink Peace had some tiny straggling roots left, and I chopped her down to about the relative size of her remaining roots leaving all the low leaves I could, and replanted her and am soaking her daily. She isn't dead yet... Caged 3 more roses last night after coming home from work - Bolero (missing all but a few feeder roots), Young Lycidas (whoppee - roots intact), and Intrigue (most roots intact). That now makes a total of 8 now caged. Just about 70 something to go. It's a good start. !