Botann: Voles, for sure. Rabbits are a problem, but they work above ground. When a vole gets a tree you see no damage above ground. Often the first thing I see is the tree has just fallen over. I pick it up, and there are no roots. So far mostly small trees two feet or so tall, but they got my prairie cascade willow that was almost 5 feet tall. My Abies nebrodensis was about 3 1/2 feet tall. I think a ring of hardware cloth sunk into the ground at least three inches is the answer. I just didn't anticipate anything like this. I will have protection for my little trees in the future. We just don't get much snow here, and it usually melts in just a few days. This year we had snow cover for at least six weeks. After the snow melted I could see their elaborate tunnels and nests everyhwere. they had lots and lots of time to do their business all protected. I had lost just a very few trees to the voles before and didn't think it was worth all the work needed to protect all the little trees I have. They even got all the roots off a Norway spruce almost 4 feet tall. That's the first time I had seen them go for a Norway spruce. I have white pines also, but so far they have not gotten any of those. --spruce

Rhododendrons have dormant buds under the bark. If you prune the top and other existing branches back a little, it will stimulate a lot of new growth. It will eventually fill in. Make sure you protect it with deer netting next winter. If it is hit like this 2 year in a row, it will have used up its reserves and will seriously suffer. One year of deer damage is normally not a serious problem. A mature rhododendron can take a year with a drought or deer damage but two in a row is bad news. Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow rhododendrons and azaleas.

Hi Glorysbrite. I also live in Berks county. We are getting lots of holes in the ground but they aren't what is eating the rhododendrons. Our holes are caused by skunks looking for grubs, and voles coming out of the ground. Most of the damage is caused by deer browsing. Deer live at the edge of the forest, so you are in prime deer habitat. I put in a deer fence last year since the deer had even found a way to push the branches through the deer netting I was getting from Weaver's Hardware near Fleetwood. The netting had worked for several decades, but during the winter of 2009-10 the deer had caused too much. Deer damage is fairly easy to recognize; deer only have lower teeth in front and cannot make a clean bite. They tear the leaves and branches off. They cause the most damage in winter, especially after the first snow. Having dogs or neighbors with dogs is the best way to keep deer away. I have a website that details other methods to prevent deer damage at: http://rhodyman.net/rarhodyhode.html

Thanks for the responses. Rhodyman,that's an interesting experience.I guess for 35 years you must have thought you had the deer thing figured out,like,no biggie,right? I've come to one conclusion after contending with things at a couple of friends places for several years,and that is...with deer there are no conclusions.In desperation,I guess they can develop a taste for anything,and once they do,it's burned in their DNA to come back to it.You read the conflicting info from people in different places on what they go after and what they don't and you realize there are no answers,just a real rough guideline to go with.And if you throw starvation in there,well forget everything you knew. Sorry to hear about your problems,kinda takes the fun out of things,right? I guess we are all just one rough winter away from devastation. I always figured that the deciduous azaleas were a safe alternative.My friend has a Flame Azalea (R calendulaceum) that was probably part of the original foundation planting,as it is about 10 feet tall and quite a specimen.However,if the deer were smart enough to pull a bud off of it in the winter,I'm sure they would clean it yearly. I'm going to keep an eye on the evergreen Hybrids Rhododendrons this year,maybe I'll post some photos in here if I can,to illustrate why I asked the question in the first place. BTW,I wasn't able to click anything to get your photos,if you tried to post some.