I may give it another year’s growth and then make up my mind. When I split my June last summer to pull out the reverting leaves, it was a lot off work. Wouldn’t go through all the digging and dividing unless it was really necessary.

Thanks for the response djacob. It was the "lot of work" part that has been giving me pause. There are 39 jobs on my to-do list for the spring. I have such good intentions....and I really want my gardens to look like those posted here but... (insert excuses here....)

use castor oil products to get rid of them!

Mae I had the same result but because of a squirrel digging out a butternut from under Liberty. It looks lopsided still but is evening out a bit after a few years. I had hoped for a quicker recovery. All I can say is ERC grows more rapidly than Liberty so you will likely have an even lovelier plant this year.

So, I did a google search and found a castor oil recipe that should repel moles and voles.

Mix 2 parts castor oil with 1 part dish soap. Add 1 tablespoon of mixture to 1 gallon of water and apply to soil. It should be effective for 1-2 weeks and doesn’t have to be reapplied after rain.

Have you tried castor oil Sunnywood?

Thanks Peren.all. I hope this is the year our plants recover.

Wow, Thanks Sunnywood for the suggestion and Mae for the recipe. Does it work on squirrels or chipmunks?

it lost root mass.. to store energy.. to come up without lessening ...

it spent last year.. regrowing the root mass ...

so i dont know what you would accomplish by separating the roots ... thru division ...

now if you have some other goal.. in which separating would accomplish such... then go for it ...

ken

I hope the voles moved on and aren't bothering any more of your plants. How maddening when you can't even see them working underground. Good luck with the castor oil treatment.

I've had a few come up lopsided, but I think it's because eyes were stepped on when just below the surface so they are stunted for the season. I hope it's not voles!

You're very organized to know you have 39 jobs already on your to do list. I smiled when you said good intentions and all.... I bet a lot of us can relate to that. I know I can. :-)

Sandyslopes, I add to my list during the growing season. In the spring I look at it and get busy ignoring most of it. I do love to plan and dream about beautiful gardens though. To find out if you have voles (rather than shrews) you’d have to set mouse traps (set beneath pots). Not fun. The castor oil treatment is on my list...I’ll let everyone know if it works.

Ken, It makes sense that the plant put its energy into root development. Mother nature and Father Time will solve the problem...no digging required!

Mae, I have read that if you mix your own, it's best to buy the smelly castor oil. Most drug stores carry descented castor oil. Guess I know why.

Here is what I've used :: I Must Garden Mole & Vole Repellent - 4lb Granular Ready to Use Vole

ClickHere

I don't have 100% proof that it was the total result of the product, but this past summer, I had no new damage in 2 beds and saw fewer holes from something.

p.s. I think my todo list is at 199. Lol

Thank you so much Pandora; I had no idea that castor oil came in smelly & in unscented versions. I’d be wasting my time if I used the wrong kind!! Time that would be better spent adding to my list. Good luck with your list

I used both a dry pelletized product and liquid. It works. I had major damage in one garden. Lost a dozen plants and there has been no damage in the last three years.

In my yard there is total war against voles. They need to be killed, not only be driven away to come back in large force the next year.

It is really sad to see large established hostas not to show up in spring, or are reduced to a few leaves.. The last 2 to 3 years I lost large parts of established hostas. It hurts! So I now have 11 Z shaped 1" dia PVC pipes in my hosta gardens and have placed 6 or so pieces of Tomcat mouse bait in each of them. New hostas I place into wire-mesh waste baskets, as you can buy for $1 each at a Dollar store - I bought a pack of 50 via the internet, see this :

https://www.dollartree.com/essentials-wire-wastebaskets-1075-in/221099

I bought these dollar store baskets last year but found they were too small except for small and mini hosta. I am in agreement on the don't divide - unless you want to. Wait another year.