Q&A: Voles, not moles, are making a feast of knockout roses

Q. Two years ago, we planted 12 Knockout roses along our fence where they received sunlight most of the day. These plants flourished for two years. Earlier this spring we trimmed the plants and they started to show new growth. Then I noticed the new growth was nearly dead. Upon closer examination, I discovered the plants were not secure in the ground and I was able to lift them right out of the soil. It looked as though the roots had been completely cut off or actually chewed off at the base of the plant.

We do have evidence of moles or voles. I am wondering if they could be the culprits. We would like to replace these roses but do not want to do so, for fear we may lo se them again.

- Rhonda Fleming, Chesapeake

A. You have a vole problem so do not replant until that is solved. Moles do not eat plant roots, although they get blamed for that. Voles eat plant roots big time. My own camellias have had the same problem you so well describe.

The best controls are the varmint controls Ramik or Rozel. Rozel is best; Virginia Beach Feed & Seed, 132 N. Witchduck Road in Virginia Beach, stocks it. Whenever you see a round hole the size of a quarter, that is a vole run, so drop Rozel in those runs. You also can bait a mousetrap with a chunk of apple and catch voles, but that is a slow way to eliminate voles since they breed like rabbits. Their breeding time is spring and fall, so do most of your control work then. When you think you have the voles on the run, mix Vole Bloc, available in garden centers, in the soil. It is North Carolina shale with sharp edges that cuts the noses and feet of the voles. When planting, add more Vole Bloc around the roots.

Voles do not usually attack roses or camellias, but hosta are one of their favorite foods. Knockout is an excellent rose; it should be fertilized in the spring but does not need much pruning except to control size.

Daylilies will return

Q. After the hot dry summer, my daylilies were looking pretty parched. When they got some rain in the fall, they perked up and put out new growth, which was killed back by frost. Will they be OK?

-George Montgomery, Virginia Beach

A. They should be OK by now. They used some energy in producing that late-season growth, but their root systems beneath the soil should survive and send up healthy new growth each spring.

The liriope problem

Q. We mowed our liriope recently. It was looking especially straggly, so I decided to pull it up, trim and crop it. The first bunch I pulled up had a lot of rolly polly bugs. I figured they were eating old twigs. The next bunch came out of the ground much easier. I noticed reddish spotting on the older leaves near their base. I flipped the pile over and the underside was coated with gray, armored bodies. Is it dying from disease and are the pill bugs cleaning up, or are the rascals eating my liriope alive?

- Rebecca, Chesapeake

A. Pill bugs eat decaying plant material, so they are feeding on your dying plants. Or they could be hiding out there, says Chesapeake extension horticulturist Mike Andruczyk. Make sure not to overwater the plants, since staying too wet can invite pill bugs. In the future, I would not pull up your liriope. Mow it close in early spring so sun can get down to the roots. That should help solve your problem and make it a lot easier to control.

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