Reading this makes me sad too, Ingrid. I had a friend that made a big wood box with chicken wire stapled on all sides (including the top ) to keep out squirrels. Surely there must be some similar solution so you could keep a few of your roses.

Ingrid this really bummed me out. It was

so nice having you back on the forum.

Jeri, it was the ground squirrels. Believe it or not, they're even plucking off the faux flowers I have in a concrete planter by the door. I don't think they eat them; they've just scattered them everywhere. However, I'm happy to say that the smaller variety of California lilacs that I ordered from Annie's Annuals is still untouched after two weeks in the ground, with only minimal barriers around them. I suppose the native plants have some deterrent in their physiology to guard against being eaten. I've now also ordered mimulus (monkey flower) to see if they will be left alone. It's pretty well trial and error to see what I can have in the garden. At least I had years of growing roses and a whole library of photos on my laptop to remind me!

I use a lot of these solar mole chasers in my garden. I am on 10 acres, have a lot of wild animals around here, no fence around gardens. You could give it a try.

https://www.harborfreight.com/solar-mole-chaser-94661.html

summers, I appreciate the advice. I've ordered four of these mole chasers. If they work on the ground squirrels so that I could have roses in even one area I'd be over the moon. I'm afraid to hope, but if it does work maybe even the roses I have now which are just bare sticks with every leaf and shoot chewed off multiple times might have a chance of surviving. Thank you!

Ingrid , I’m so sorry you are so discouraged. I know the roses brought so much joy and I hope something changes for you .

If you do want to rehome them I am happy to take them .

I can come when you like . I’d be honored to care for them . ❤️ just messsge me here and we can work it out .

I am meeting Stephanie later this month , maybe she’d like some of them and I can bring them to her z

Oh, Ingrid. I was afraid something like this had happened. I would probably pot your new roses and build a cage for them. I am so sorry you have had to deal with all of this stress and heartache.

Ingrid, life sucks sometimes. I'm sorry you (likely: don't know about the preventive device mentioned) can't have roses in your life. But, as you know--I'm just reminding you--no roses doesn't mean no garden. My renunciations are far fewer than yours. I'll probably never have a magnolia. Or the narrowly columnar box 'Graham Blandy', as it absolutely can't take box moth: my once beautiful specimen is dead, to be replaced, probably, by a columnar yew. Living without roses, plants as tough as they are elegant, is hard for a gardener and rose lover. But I hope you'll maintain your attention on seeking out plants that you CAN grow, and making a beautiful garden out of them.

P.S. It's generous of you to offer the roses: what a kind idea.

P.S. Oh, and by the way, don't go away from the forum! You'll always be a rose grower in spirit, even if the ground squirrels prevent you from having them in the garden.

Dear friends, your kind words are such a comfort, more than I can express. I would love to grow roses again just so I could be a part of this incredible community; we'll just have to see. Jenna, I admit that I thought of you in particular, although I wasn't certain whether you still had room in your garden. It's a comfort to me to know the roses will have a home, even if it can't be here, and I'd love to meet you. The spikes will arrive tomorrow, and of course I'll keep you all posted!

Ingrid, I'll be praying that the spikes work. Wouldn't that be amazing!! All of our hearts are yours...and we're all hoping for a miracle. I'm glad you're trying the mole spikes that Summer suggested. :) :)

I'm sorry that you feel so discouraged, Ingrid. But I totally agree with Melissa-even if it turns out that you can't include roses in your garden PLEASE don't feel like you can't post on this forum!

If the ground squirrels are surfacing before they eat the roses (vs. eating the roots), you can also try this motion activated sprinkler. It’s been useful for me in protecting my vegetable garden from critters (maybe opossums?) who were digging up my plants by the roots in the middle of the night. The critters tried to persist for a while after I installed the sprinkler, but eventually decided it wasn’t worth the trouble and left my garden alone. I don’t think you should give up on your roses!

Orbit 62100 Yard Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler with Day & Night Detection Modes,Black https://a.co/d/5rTjx10

Ingrid, I'm so sorry you are having this trouble! I hope one of the suggestions listed above works to protect your roses. In any event, I do hope you'll keep posting, though I can certainly understand that if it turns out you can't grow roses, it might make you too sad. All my best wishes to you!

I'm so sorry Ingrid! I wish I had a solution for your problem, but aside from building an enclosed courtyard that is squirrel-proof I'm not sure what you could do. You have some intense wildlife in your yard!

Fingers crossed for you ingrid ! I hope those stakes are the solution! I’ve actually seen them in yards before and wondered what they were . I can hear the noise they make and it probably does work well ! I’m so glad there could be a solution for you !

Okay don't get me wrong, I know this isn't the prettiest solution, but what about something like this?

Ingrid, we're all rooting for you! I hope you find way to grow beautiful roses again.

Your struggles remind me of our struggles growing a veggie garden in the Sonoran desert as a kid. My stepmom had to build a giant cage over it to keep the critters out, otherwise they ate everything.

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Alas, being an extremely visual person, any kind of barrier that is unsightly would ruin the experience for me. Here's hoping that the spikes work. If not, I'll grow plants that need very little water such as the California lilac that I've already put in, plus the two oleanders. I'm still trying to find the echium that Trish suggested. In truth, I'm afraid the roses would be just too tempting for the squirrels in what has otherwise become a very inhospitable environment. So many animals, including reptiles and even insects, have disappeared over the last few years.

It may sound selfish or stupid, but it would be hard for me to be here if I couldn't have roses of my own, even if it were only a handful. It would be like being in a roomful of moms with their babies and being the only one there's who's childless.

I understand Ingrid, that’s how I would feel too

Ingrid, I'd feel exactly the same in your situation! I don't think it's stupid or selfish at all, it's just how anyone would feel! The fact is, I think that, sadly, due to climate change, a lot of us may soon have to change how we garden.

I agree, Ingrid. We would rather have you here...but we'd understand completely. Keep us posted as to how this new measure works. :)

Well, the ground squirrels wasted no time in letting me know who is really the boss here. The spikes went in last night, and this morning one of them was standing on top of one of the spikes, surveying what is surely his domain and not mine. Jenna, the roses are yours! My email is ingridstockton75@gmail. com. and if you'll contact me we'll take it from there. I'm happy to know that the roses will have such an excellent home.

Thank you all for understanding. However, I may just have a look-in once in a while to see whether Jenna has any updates on her new roses.

😭😭😭

Ingrid, did you turn them on? They should make noises every a few seconds.

Whatever you decide to do in your garden, Ingrid, I wish you luck with it.

I know this is a loyal and supportive rosy community here so I just wanted to let you know that there is quite a bit of visiting other forums. I often nip into Californian gardening (for wishful titillation), Northern Gardens (when I need some perspective on the weather), Perennials (where I mostly hang out), Cottage gardens (because i imagine chaotic, like mine), Annuals (cos I grow a lot of them and think you could too). Some of them are a bit moribund but I am starved for garden chit-chat (shy, grumpy, tech-averse). They are always interesting enough for me to check them out...and I have learned a lot about plants.

You are a gardener and an artist - there will always be and beauty and life in your world..

I am always interested in gardening resilience and adapting to change so I hope you continue to share your experience, here, And in other forums, you would be so welcome..

summers, yes they were turned on. They were checked last night and again this morning. Maybe the squirrels thought they were being serenaded by the sound.

Thank you, Melissa. I'll be going forward with planting California natives as the two 4-inch plants of California lilacs I already have in the ground have been completely untouched in over two weeks, even the tiny buds on them. They will certainly require much less water and upkeep than the roses, which fits my needs and diminished abilities. When one door closes another one opens, and I find that I'm actually very accepting of the situation, much more than I would have thought.

rosaprimula, I just now saw your comment, and I'm so glad I did , and that you mentioned other forums. I don't know why I didn't think of that, but I'll certainly look at the California forum and see if there are others that might apply to my situation. There's a lot I can learn about this new type of gardening, well, new to me anyway. Thank you so much for your sweet and helpful post.

I had a lovely visit with Jenna today, and was so happy to hand my roses over to such a wonderful new home. Watching them grow and bloom in her garden will be a good reason to look in here every so often. I also got to meet her sweet and very well-behaved children.

Jenna presented me with these beautiful and fragrant spring flowers from her garden. She is a truly gifted gardener!

Those are beautiful, and I'm happy you're feeling at peace with it all. There's a lot of happiness ahead in your garden. I love my roses but I have SO many other plants in my garden that give me immense joy, and I'm sure you will too. Wishing you all the best 💜

You may like to visit Tree of Life Nursery on Ortega Highway near San Juan Capistrano. I was there for their spring celebration and they have a wide variety of beautiful flowering natives. Hopefully there might be plants that the animals wont bother but will flower nicely in your garden. Im trying to plant more of these as time goes by and water gets scarcer and more costly.

Trish, if I can ever score echium webbi, which lives forever on Annie's Annuals wish list, it will always remind me of you. I have a feeling that climate change will sooner or later affect many of us who are passionate about roses. However, change is a constant in life, and how else could we ever grow? If it's true that we choose when and where to be born then I'm afraid we're all a little crazy. As for the brugmansia, it seems to have an almost cult-like following but sadly I'm not a great admirer. I suspect though that the ground squirrels would consider the flowers a gourmet item.

I do have one rose left that grows outside my back door, a tall, gaunt and exceedingly spiny specimen of Wild Edric. It has very few leaves but this morning I counted eight buds! It's only alive because that's where I empty a pot most days that I keep filled with fresh water for whoever happens to amble or fly by. Kitty, the Tree of Life nursery sounds delightful but we rarely go anywhere, and certainly not further afield as I don't drive any more and my husband is often a bit shaky now too. We can't figure out how we got to be so old! He at least still doesn't have one gray hair on his head which I rather enjoy.

Not one gray hair! What lucky genes. I'm 30 and I have a LOT already, right in the front where of course it's quite noticable. If looking at family members has taught me anything it's to expect to be almost 100% gray by 45.

Ingrid....I'm so sorry to hear that the squirrels are decimating your roses, yet again. When I lived in the Bay Area, I had a beloved balcony garden full of pots of roses, flowers, and topiaries. We had a wretched squirrel that would come and rip the plants out if the pots and just leave them there to die. Each day I would pot them up again, and as soon as I went inside, he would pull them back out!

My neighbour would feed this squirrel peanuts every day. I think the constant feeding gave it the opportunity to expend its energy being mischievous, instead of having to work to feed itself like a regular squirrel in the wild. A hungry squirrel is a well behaved squirrel maybe? :)

I once sat at on a patio at a restaurant and watched a squirrel rip the flowers off every one of a planter full of pansies. After each beheading, the squirrel would look at us, as if to make sure he had an audience :) .He was probably wondering why we didn't shoo him away! And I think he was entertaining himself, while waiting for food to drop on the ground.

Squirrels are certainly little characters...often "naughty"....no wonder they feature so often in children's books :)

Ingrid, I'm in Massachusetts and just had someone come out here to remove the squirrels. It's a wildlife place, so they relocate them far away elsewhere. They started in my eaves.

I bought a few of those plugin devices that emit sound. When it didn't seem like they were working, I thread an outdoor electrical chord out my window and let the plugin hang near their location. Instead of driving them away, it drove them INTO MY CEILING! Hence having someone come out here.

I'm telling you this because clearly this worked. Earlier last week I thread another extension chord out another window to help deter the squirrels, chipmunks, and voles.

There are a lot of places that carry these plug in devices. I've tried them before and they didn't work. My handyman gave me the name of one that works for him. It sometimes takes a few weeks before those stubborn squirrels take off. Please try this and don't give up on your rose babies.

The owners name is Ron. Wishing you success! - Chey

https://cleanrth.com/

Chey, I don't think there's room in the attic for the ground squirrels. That space is already being occupied by the roof rats. I'm just now looking at the planter by the front door that was filled with pretty faux white and purple flowers a few short weeks ago. Now all I can see is a mass of green stems with two or three little flowers still hanging on. I've decided to laugh about it because it's better than the other alternative. Roses are definitely not in my future at this point, I'm sorry to say. If it's not dead easy and foolproof it's just not on the cards any more.

Hello Ingrid, so sorry to hear that you are having problems with your roses. I recall your wonderful garden from years ago, hope you find enjoyment in your garden with other plants.

Ingrid...once you make a decision it's so much easier to shift focus with happiness in your heart. I'm glad you've found that peace. :) :) If you'd like, we'd love to have you on the seasonal thread or the boring thread. :) :) But, regardless, I'm glad you've accepted your position. Who knows, later you may want to try another rose. I was like that with lilies. I love Oriental Lilies, but the dreaded Lily Beetle made growing them maddening for me. So I stopped growing them. Now it's been quite a few years since they released a predator for the lily beetle, and I'm going to try a few again and see what happens. But if they're decimated again...I'll stop growing them again. So much better to be at peace than to be at war. <3

It seems that life makes these decisions for us, rosecanadian, and trying to swim against the tide is not something that will end well, I don't think. Every once in a while I'll see new growth on my rose twigs and then by the next day it's gone, so there's a compelling message there. The native plants I have, on the other hand, are still intact, with just a few buds missing off the California lilacs. I have a few more plants arriving in a few days and that will be it for this year so that I can assess how will these will do in the long run. I'm now at peace with all of this, but sadly I don't think I can bear to be on any rose forum because it's not conducive to my peace of mind. Thank you for thinking of me. I wish you luck with your lilies this time around!

I am so sorry, Ingrid!! It sounds like you are being invaded. Roof Rats and Ground squirrels are pests and definitely not pets that should be fed. Have you tried calling an exterminator?

We recently had a huge amount of bark stripped from our 20 year old, 20 foot tall Arborvitae trees. We called our local animal control at the police department. They gave us that name of our local extreminator. He has caulght 6 squirrels already.

Rebecca

Rebecca, almost everyone in southern California has roof rats and I've had exterminators tell me there really is no way to get rid of them. Same thing with ground squirrels in the more rural areas; there is no way to exterminate them all, and if only a very few are left they will all come back in a short while. We can only rely on predators to keep them in check to some degree, and I think that is working. It's really global warming that is at the root of it, and before that began to be really noticeable I had a beautiful garden of roses, irises and other companion plants. The ground squirrels and rabbits never touched these plants until 2018, and after that the environment changed pretty drastically to where eventually everything we planted was eaten.

Ingrid, I totally understand. Come back if you ever want to. And thanks for the good wishes for my lilies. Peace for you in your garden. :)

This hurts my heart. I went through it for years with deer. Growing sticks brings no joy. Since landscaping with roses is not possible, BenT's suggestion would work for a cutting garden so you could still have roses inside your home. But, if by now, they're already at home in Jen's garden, they couldn't have found a more loving caretaker. All the best to you, dear Ingrid.

Thank you, dear flowers. Before the roses I gave to Jen arrived I had already planted other roses and those are the ones that haven't been allowed to grow. However, for the past few days I've had blooms that I cut from Wild Edric in the house, and they are so fragrant! So much so, in fact, that I couldn't have them in the living room where I sit but they are gracing my dining room table. It is my one remaining rose left over from my previous garden but I notice that the ground squirrels have been snacking there too. How awful about the deer; they are equally destructive if not more so because of their size. One must just find other sources of joy, and thankfully there's always something to be happy about!

Please check in now and again, Ingrid! You are missed. I am rooting for your Wild Edric! Also, please let us know if you post on other forums. I visit a few others off and on. I think Magpie might have an idea with cages. Perhaps some decorative ones to house a few potted or planted smaller roses like Souvenir de la Malmaison? I have greatly downsized and find that the roses I continue to grow are much more enjoyable! My sister grows just a few roses, and they are all the more treasured. Thinking of you and Cecil. Carol

Carol, I so much appreciate your kind words. Just today, as I was gazing out my living room window, I saw two ground squirrels near the top of Wild Edric dining on some blooms. I fear their will may be stronger than mine, although Wild Edric still has at least ten unopened buds, and I plan to bring them inside after they open a bit. Double cages didn't deter them from eating my newly planted roses and I see this as a sign of the times. Happily my ceanothus and mimulus both have some blooms and those are untouched, and I'm very hopeful that through trial and error I'll find more pretty plants that I can enjoy in peace. I have some varieties of salvia on order, and we shall see how that goes. I'm so glad that you and your sister still have some cherished roses!

All gardens are magical! In time, I have faith that yours will please you and also give you peace. There’s too much to struggle with these day. Your garden should not be another struggle! Ceanothus and mimulus are beautiful. I can grow neither in my garden for any length of time, so I look forward to hearing about your plants. I will be cheering on your experiments and celebrating every success and joy. Change and creativity keep us youthful! xo

ingrid_vc zone 10 San Diego County

I wish I would have saw this post earlier. I live in San Diego and would have loved to have had La France.

I have problems with squirrels damaging my plants in pots but so far they have not killed any of my plants. I'm so sorry they are a huge pest to you.

Jemma, I'm sorry you missed out; La France was always one of my favorite roses. As you're closer to the coast I hope you'll never have the problems with ground squirrels that my harsher environment up here has. I'm adapting by now planting only, or at least for the most part, California natives that have acquired properties that keep the wildlife from wanting to eat them. At least that's what I'm hoping!