I am also thinking that even if these wires work...it would kind of be a hit to the esthetics of the flower bed and the overall landscape around the house.

My rose bed is right along the driveway, quite visible from the main street. The chicken wire most likely wouldn't look great; but if this is the only solution, I guess I'll do what I have to do.

Now I know why I had this idea in my head before - that roses can only be grown properly by specialized facilities.

By the time you have to fight off so many creatures because they all find the rose petals so tasty and apparently want to live off of Middle Eastern delicacies (go figure)...by that time....I can see why so many people say "too fussy, not for me".

Nobody touches the darn Marygolds with a 10 foot pole.

Love these little things.

Modest as can be, you can't stop them from blooming their heads off all summer long and they scream with color.

On this other side, I have been doing chants and invocations around these roses for a month now - just to get some chomped off stems.

Who am I kidding? Still frustrated as heck.

I am not over it.

liakawak,

Was the squirrel on the ground when trying to eat the buds? Could she reach the buds? This means they were hanging lower, right?

Mine were not hanging low. They were standing upright - the tallest of them all.

3 ft. Squirrels can't get there.

Do you think I should try to get out at night with a flashlight to see if I can catch the thief?

whitchygirl,

That sounds promising, thank you!

I need to look into it because chicken wire would be ugly.

I haven't got to try it, but it sounds like it should work. As soon as I read it, I had this duh moment, like why didn't I think of this? Better than what I have now, which consists of hoping and worrying. lol

I had a thought. Is it possible with them being close to the street, they started to open, and a two legged deer got them? I see deer here, so I know mine were deer. Is it possible it was a person? I know other people on here have had people taking roses. Fence would tangle up the two legged ones too I bet. lol

I've heard some people say that fish emulsion can help deter deer (and as a bonus you're also fertilizing you're roses when you use it). Apparently it's not just humans that hate the smell of rotting fish! The only downsides are that your yard will stink and it might attract other wildlife (like raccoons and other scavengers). Has anyone ever tried the fish emulsion?

Effective animal fencing is the answer for all of them, except those that climb or fly. The damage was classic deer browsing right from the original post, last year I saw a doe walking through an interchange near here during evening traffic. This was on a main arterial route, with lots of cars passing through at the time. In a long fully built up residential area. However there was a forested park of some size nearby. With a stream (water source) running through it.

perennialfan I was using stinky alfalfa tea with fish in it. I don't think they even were hungry. Surrounded by woods here. They just sampled anyway!

You could use fishing line for deers. I posted a link on Deer Steve’s thread last week. I will have to find it after walking the dogs.

Summers thank you! I couldn't remember who posted it. It was helpful to me, and I'm going to try it. I just have to make sure the dh doesn't clothesline himself on it. lol

I would greatly appreciate the link, summers. Thank you.

For tonight though...can I just place some light plastic bags around the buds and tighten with elastic band...so I won 't lose even the few buds that are left?

You could buy some liquid fence which is ridiculously expensive, or you can make your own like I do.

Take a dozen eggs and 10 cloves of garlic. Toss them in the blender with some water, and blend them up till its all liquid. Pour it in a milk jug and let it sit outside for a few days with the cap loose enough so air can flow out. (If you screw the cap on tight, it may explode). When it smells really bad, its ready. Use 1 -2 ounces of your mixture per gallon of water and spray the tops of your roses. Works 100% against deer. You will smell it for a day, the deer will smell it for a month. Don't forget to apply it next month.

I think the bags would work for tonight. Don't forget about them, because the sun might cook them during the day.

Al that makes me think alfalfa tea might not smell too bad in comparison. lol

....about the same level of wretchedness

if you make your own deer repellent be sure to use a fine sieve or it will clog your sprayer. The fishing line and netting was a TOTAL BUST over here, but that was for small area rather than an entire yard and the deer had already been visiting, living and foaling in my yard for years so they knew it was a nice cozy getaway! : (( Actually thinking about it, netting strung on tall bamboo poles has kept the deer out of the roses growing on a fence in my parking lot; it just wasn't enough to keep them coming in at their usual entrance.

Hi Severe, my Perle is in a container and I saw the squirrel sitting on the edge, torso up and grabbing the new shoots with his paws. It happened to my one gallon roses planted in the ground too, I was excited to see flower buds only to find them chopped off next day. It might be that the squirrel is jumping and sitting on the stronger branches to get the buds? Squirrels can balance itselves in the most thin wires when they want to reach something. Once I read here in the gardenweb that we could ID the animal based on the angle the stem is chopped. This link: [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/strange-animal-eating-rose-bush-leaves-dsvw-vd~1724973[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/strange-animal-eating-rose-bush-leaves-dsvw-vd~1724973)

Here is the fishing line link: https://vomitingchicken.com/deer-fencing-cheap-and-easy-and-effective/

Ok, I have to chime in here again. Where I live I don't have petite deer that just take the bud off. They come thru and shred leaves and buds. Your bushes look too intact for me to think it's deer. Just to say before you start doing deer repellent strategies. You'd probably be seeing or hearing deer in your neighborhood. They aren't just nocturnal pests.

Here's what I would do to see what I'm dealing with - I have some motion controlled outdoor wildlife cameras that I've had for some time and I occasionally use. It has helped to have "eyes on" what's getting at roses. Cabella's sells this but I don't know how much they are these days. Or, you could ask around your friends and see if anyone has a camera they could lend you for a week so you can really see who's doing what. :-)

I'm happy so many people here are supporting you and encouraging you to have more roses.

Well, I just went to put manure on my last roses. I've been wondering why MAC is such a slow-poke. Low and behold, she's been nibbled upon!! Uggh. I know who the culprit is too.... my resident opossum that lives in a hidey-hole just near its base. I guess Awakening*s nearby blooms were scarier to get to. Just when I thought I had the deer beat! : (( Maybe I'll leave the fencing around my other roses for the time being until they're bigger. : ((

Sorry VV. It's enough to drive us even battier than we already are. Wave after wave of critters, then the jb's will come. If I ever make it to the nut house, it will be rose related, I'm sure. ;-p

Al...

I will try it - thank you!

Sounds smelly but will try anything.

Thank you all again. Lots of info to take in and what's worse is that you cannot know for sure what it is.

To top it all off, I tried to surround the bush with one of those tomato cage stakes by making the canes fit in...thinking it might help. Not only it doesn't (what was I thinking?) but I managed to break another bud myself.

So yeah - it's nut house right now.

For tonight, I decided to place two small bathroom plastic cups on top of each remaining bud (two) and hope they stay protected for the night.

They just hang there so I suppose if this creature is determined, it could knock them off.

I couldn't do the plastic bag thing - what I had was sliding down.

The wildlife camera sounds quite appealing - but I don't know anyone who has one and I am sure it would be expensive.

It sounds to me like even if I find out, these bushes would have to be surrounded by some kind of enclosing/fence - regardless of the culprit. Because this is not an insect...although there could be some insects too. Some leaves had been munched on before but I kind of shrugged it off.

I am also wondering about the chipmunks.

They dig right around the rose bushes - you see the holes...so I know they poke around there.

The question is - could a chipmunk have gotten so high to grab those tall stems?

I can't imagine they would be standing up and pulling those particular stems with buds towards them.

They would have a higher IQ than a lot of people I've seen out there.

Severe_Novice, just about the time you get this problem under control, you'll go out one morning and think you're losing your mind because a rose bush that was there yesterday is ..... gone. The whole bush. There are underground varmints that pull the whole bush down into their tunnel miraculously leaving no trace of it behind, not even a hole in the ground. I have seriously thought I was losing my marbles, staring at an empty spot where there had been a rose bush.

Sometimes they just eat all the roots away, and the bush looks just fine until you touch it and it falls over with not a trace of any roots.

As rose gardeners, we have to keep a sense of humor, or they might have to carry us off to the home.

Flowers,.

Yeap...I would definitely end up with fewer marbles at the sight of this.

I was not familiar with the expression...the first thing that made me laugh today. And it's late.

But here's the thing.

Esteemed neighbors in my larger area as well as some in my very subdivision - are now confirming that yes, indeed, there's deer around; and not few.

WHAAAAT??

Some even added they have seen coyottees, foxes...and even a bear!

(Not here in my subdivision, but in the larger area).

So ...uurggh... this is crazy.

I thought all the development had driven wildlife away by now. Of course, there is also the question of "away" where?

Not that I hate the poor animals...as I do understand they need a place to live too; and I also understand, philosophically, morally and in all sorts of other ways, that we humans are pushing our luck with our numbers, development and global sprawl.

That being said, at the practical level, I am still not a big fan of wildlife swarming around where I live.

I grew up in a European capital...and the only wildlife I ever found there was at the zoo; so I am still kind of conditioned to recoil at the thought of "wild" anything. :-)))

Whew!

I totally feel your pain. Until I had an actual 8ft tall fence installed I used Liquid Fence for several years and it worked wonderful. It’s smelly the first day but it goes away. You do have to reapply especially as you get new growth. It’s def worth a try if you think it’s deer! I wish you the best of luck! Take care, Judy

I spend a fair amount of $$ on liquid fence, and apply it frequently when roses are abut to bloom or are blooming. It deters deer and rabbits both. So far, has worked pretty well for me, as long as I remember to apply it. I buy the concentrated form.

Ha. I knew you had to have deer. They're everywhere! If you spray that rotten egg stuff, do it at night. Come out in the morning and loudly complain about something stinking. lol (shift blame) I don't have any close neighbors, so if anyone smells it here, it's their own fault.

Deer is my guess!! Especially at that height from what I can make of the picture and thickness of the canes. Done give up the ship....read, read and read about different ways to deter them and begin down the list.....Gardening with roses and lots of other plants will always have its trials...just have to figure how bad you want to grow your favorites.

Patty

Hey Severe. I just have a quick minute, but had to respond. I SO feel your pain. This exact thing happened to us back in December/January. Here's a link to the Houzz discussion with info about what happened and with pictures showing our damage: [Help! Squirrels or...?[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/help-squirrels-or-dsvw-vd~5111747?n=16)

The damage we had looked pretty exact to what you are experiencing. :-( My understanding is that rodents are the cause of those clean 45 degree angle cuts. I did catch and release one woodrat/pack rat, but confirmation came when we found several nests they had made out of our roses. GRRR. One nest was under the hood of our old Dodge Charger and they also ate several spark plug wires.

I like to try a multifaceted approach with things. My thought is this covers all the bases, but admittedly my typical approach could also be considered the "nuclear option". ;-)

This is the product we used that I believe finally stopped the woodrats reign of terror: Plantskydd We picked up the granular version specifically for rodents at our local nursery.

I reeeeeally hope this helps. I know how heartbreaking it can be, and I can't imagine how I would have felt if it had happened to us when the roses were covered in buds.

Shannon

Try this: Build about 5 or 6 teepees out of bamboo stakes that are about 2 to 2.5 feet long, using 3 stakes per teepee. Position the teepees around the rose bush but far enough away that a deer walking up to the plant would have to pass them. Using string/twine/fish-line connect all of the teepees together to form a circle around the plant.

If you have deer they will knock the teepees over (you didn’t stick them down into the ground, right?) no matter which direction they approach from. Make sure they can’t reach over the string to get to the roses.

That should tell you if you have a large animal getting at your roses

Check that each teepee is standing before retiring..... have fun

Sprinkling cayenne pepper around plants rabbits eat works too as a repellent. I have rabbit fencing around my rose garden.

Dear all,

Thank you all again for the latest posts.

Here's my little update: the small plastic cups on top of the buds worked well last night - assuming the creature came around again. Which I think it did because there was more leaf damage.

After everything I read, including your suggestions and speculations here - I am starting to move away from the "deer theory" again.

Even if there is deer confirmed in the area. Whether it is or not, we have not seen one in our neighborhood for many years, let alone in our driveway. Never mind that when anyone passes by this bed, the neighbor's flood light comes on automatically and I am sure this would have scared off a deer.

Someone here said that if it really was deer, the damage would be more prominent than this small, 45 degrees nibbling on part of the leaves. I might have seen entire leaf sets snatched off by the bigger deer mouth.

But this is not what I see.

Sun2shinie's story drew my attention because I too see holes dug in the ground right around the rose bushes. Those are chipmunks or squirrels and it looks like they have made nests right there.

This morning there was further damage to the leaves in the same nibbling pattern but now all the way down at the base. A deer would not go all the way down like this, not with this small munching at ground level.

There it is:

I really think it is the chipmunks or squirrels.

Or both.

Maybe the buds were snapped off by squirrels and the low leaves are being munched on by chipmunks.

I know for sure we have these animals all around ; so this is not a question of "if" but whether they are the culprit; and it looks like they might just be.

I can only rely on the "cups-on-buds" method for so long.

It's awfully easy but it becomes annoying to pop cups on buds every evening and remove in the morning. Even if one was willing to do so, this still doesn't take care of the foliage which also seems to be munched on consistently.

I saw somewhere a tip for black plastic forks stuck all over around the rose bush in the ground. Maybe that would deter the animals?

On an unrelated note, I continue to remove yellowed leaves at the base of the bush every morning. They come off extremely easily, like they were about to fall off anyway. no, I am not over-watering the bushes - in this weather I am starting to wonder if I may be under-watering them a bit.

I wonder if it is a virus. They always occur at the base.

One day I remove all yellowed leaves at the base, the next day the bush produces more. But I only see them at the base.

I wonder what THIS is.

It is the start of blackspot Look at the top leaf on your specimen. Blackspot usually starts at the bottom & travels upward. What is the name of the rose? Some cultivars are more disease susceptible than other cultivars.

I'm always picking off yellow leaves too. Not black spot, but it's mostly on stuff I planted this year. I assume it's just the plants adjusting. The potted up bare roots are doing it too. I don't worry unless it's all over. I could be wrong though.

I have those yellow leaves as well and like witchy they are on the newer plants I think that passes with age

Don't worry, just take it as 'natural trimming' of your rose bush. After losing some buds the bush will have even more energy for the next flush and you'll probably get a denser bush as well. Roses are tough things and new flowers will come. As the bush gets older and larger they are naturally more resistant to attack from all pests and diseases.

Hey, for the moment, I am just popping cups on buds and taking off yellow laves at the base every morning.

If it's black spot, too bad - because I had even sprayed preventatively with fungicide and more recently with some need oil too...so I really don't know what else I could have done; but maybe it's not black spot - just the rose bush adjusting.

To discourage mammals from eating your roses, you could also make a hot pepper "tea", add a little veg oil and soap, and spray it on the foliage. The hot pepper is the key -- the oil helps keep it on the leaves, and the soap emulsifies the water and oil. You'd start by simmering the hottest dried crushed red peppers you can get -- with the seeds. Then, you can either strain out the peppers and use the water with a dash of oil and soap, or you can run the peppers and some water through the blender for extra-strength, but strain it through something fine so that the remaining liquid won't clog your sprayer.

:-)

~Christopher

I forgot I have a picture of the one packrat/woodrat’s nest/rose condo we found under the hood of the old Charger. We actually saw one of the little creeps running around the side of the engine compartment.

See all the whole rose canes? :-( Wahhh!

We found more canes behind the winter cover on the pool equipment, and another set on the corner of the back porch behind a big basket.

Regarding the Plantskyyd... it’s primary ingredient is pig or cow blood. It’s organic and “repels by emitting an odor animals associate with predator activity.” I also like that its rainproof and lasts a long time, package says 3-4 months in the summer, 6 months in the winter. My biggest problem with it was the dogs trying to eat the mulch around the roses like I’d ringed the roses in bacon.

Hang in there Severe! You will figure out a method(s) that works for you and your flower babies. :-)

Shannon :-)

Thank you, Christopher and Shannon! Great ideas.

I have also had some recommendations for Milorganite. Does anyone here know anything about this product?

It’s organic matter from Milwaukee.

It’s treated sewer sludge & I use it to fertilize my lawn. I prefer it over the very high nitrogen synthetic fertilizers. I use a drop spreader & in our area we fertilize our lawns with their first feeding around Memorial Day.

Some people have recommended milorganite as animal repellant and supposedly it works wonders. Is that so?

I heard it smells bad......

Jazzmom, is it true?

The expert guy at my locally-owned nursery/retailer says Milorganite is a natural product, but it's not exactly organic. That's because it's not known what kind of non-organic stuff went into the sewage, e.g. people taking medications or flushing medications down the toilet.

Yes, it does stink a little. I try to apply it when rain is in forecast so it gets watered in well to eliminate the smell. But it does dissipate within 24 hours of watering it in.

If that is the case for not knowing if meds are mixed into the formulation, (it is treated so not sure if meds are removed but it is sewer sludge which I hope is #2 minus meds) an alternate organic fertilizer would be using Espoma Plant Tone on your lawn. I would ask the Milorganite company that question re: if meds are removed from their product. I think you have to worry about the water in your district in regard to getting meds in your drinking water which can be a problem as meds as well as fertilizers will eventually wind up in aquifers. Not sure if they can land up in reservoirs which is a different way of accessing drinking water.

You would need to repeatedly apply lots of milorganite to cause an issue with residual meds, I would think. (The bigger issue there is that we are all putting meds into our sewage. The treated wastewater, depending on how it dealt with, can bring those sorts of contaminants into the ecosytem on a much larger scale than a few sacks of milorganite in someone's yard). I'd avoid applying it to food crops, due to potential build up of heavy metals or other contaminants in sewage. But for decorative plants, it is a really great source of nutrients and represents the cutting edge of composting. Milorganite is leading the way to a better future, and providing a way to rebuild the broken nutrient cycle.

I’d stay with chicken wires, the smell would be bad since I have over 1000 roses at one location. My neighbors would call the town for the smell. Lol

I was in Home Depot this AM & on the shelf near all the ‘Tones’ was small bags of Milorganite for plants (not the lawn huge bag).