Celebration of Roses, January 30: Yolande d’Aragon
Link to HMF: Yolande d’Aragon
Acquired From: Heirloom Roses
Own Root? Yes
Would I Grow Again? Yes
Notes: A vole casualty, my Yolande basically went into shock from having to be dug up and potted and stayed dormant the remainder of the season. The flowers are fragrant and very beautiful and I’m looking forward to spring to see if it has recovered from the move. If you grow ‘Yolande d’Aragon’ I would love to hear your experiences.
Yolande was in my garden for several years, but met the same fate – voles. They completely ate her roots out from under her, leaving everything above ground looking good. She fell over at the slightest touch, exposing no roots. I couldn’t believe my eyes. (First encounter with voles.) All the roses around the perimeter of my veggie garden were goners. I’d read that this one only bloomed once, but mine had a respectable repeat.
When I realized what was happening with the voles in our garden, I couldn’t believe it at first, either. It wasn’t until I actually saw a vole devour one our lilies right in front of (the lily stalk starting shaking and I watched it get eaten from the roots up) that I believed how destructive they could be! Thank you for sharing your experience with Yolande and letting me know about the repeat. I hope ours does, too!
Here in England she suffers terrible blackspot. My plant only has a couple of shortish canes. I do want to keep her because her flowers are very beautiful but she hasn’t done well so far.
Hmmm, that’s very interesting, thank you or weighing in, Neil! I had another gardener tell me similar experiences so that certainly seems like something to watch out for with this rose.