I think my neighbor stole my Peonies!

11 years ago

What should I do about this. I've been so busy planting other things all over my yard and Peonies take such little care I didn't notice they were gone. There are a bunch of peonies there and it seemed to be growing, but then my mother came over today and asked where they were?? I went and looked and they're GONE!! I HAD 2 kinds there's one that we call the Strawberry sundae because it's pink white and a little dot of red in the center (the cherry) :) The ones that are gone are the pink ones, they were huge and ranged in color from a pale pink to almost white and smelled SOOO good! I looked over into my neighbors yard and they have a whole bunch that look just my missing ones. Which they never had before. They always used to comment on mine and how pretty they WERE. What used to make me mad about them was that they would pull them through the fence (on their side) just before they would bloom and then I couldn't pull them back because once they bloomed they wouldn't fit. I thought that was weird, but I never thought they'd do something like that. I looked for a dead plant there is nothing there. Is this even possible?

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Comments (7)

Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
11 years ago
Yep! It is possible and has happened to me many times! Peonies, irises, hostas, lilies.........One evening they are there and the next morning they are gone. With the ID tags! Some people's kids!

Oddly, it was my Raspberry Sundae peony that was the first to go missing! I will never understand people like that....
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
11 years ago
If it's any consolation, a recent transplant would frankly look like s**t right now. So if the neighbor's clump is looking really good, they're likely not yours.

Poke around in the spot where the peony was and see if you can find the severed remains of the thick peony roots. Dig them up and replant horizontally ~1.5" deep in some good soil. They will bud and regrow.
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In my opinion, there are different circumstances where someone is actually STEALING, and then there are circumstances where the person is just rescuing a nice perennial. It's probably best to look at these things on a case-by-case basis. I drove by an abandoned farm house for years, watching as the peonies bloomed year after year, looking like old-fashioned varieties, white and beautiful. Then they tore the house down and the farmer who rented the field behind it enlarged the field to encompass the entire yard. He plowed over the peonies and used Round-up to kill the grass. The next day, I went over and dug up all the peonies I could get my hands on, even though they were somewhat funky due to the spray. They pulled through and now every year I enjoy these beauties which have a heavenly scent not usually found in today's hybrids from what I can tell. My other peonies don't smell nearly as rose-like. Did I STEAL these peonies? I don't think so, it was obvious that they were going to be plowed under every year with herbicides used to keep them from coming back. Perhaps I "borrowed" a little dirt from the field, but in grand scheme of things I doubt the farmer will miss 2 gallons of soil out of a 30-acre field. Did I ask permission? No, but the farmer was there when I dug them up and never even came over to say squat to me. I figured he knew what I was doing. I wouldn't outright steal something from a person's yard, regardless if the house is abandoned or not. That's why I kept my eye on that property, because I didn't know if someone would move in and take over or what would happen. Once the house was torn down (a shame, it was a beauty) I figured all bets were off. I do occasionally "steal" seeds from plants that I see in various parks, arborateums or other places where (having been a pro gardener for a biz) I know they're going to end up as waste or compost. I have several varieties of plants and trees from this type of thievery. As well, birds and squirrels "steal" seeds and put them in my yard all the time. I have a shingle oak, a plum tree, a wild pink rose, partridge berry vine, coreopsis, an odd yellow flower that I still can't identify and many more which I consider "gifts" from my little animal thief friends. In the end, we're talking about plants. It's not stocks, bonds, gold, diamonds... and no, it's not a slippery slope. I think most gardeners would agree that if we were actually plant thieves, we'd probably stick to plants and not move up the ladder to actual retail goods. I even encourage gardener friends to "steal" seeds from me, but tell them to do it while I'm not looking or the plant won't grow. :-)
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JadaMaria
Original Author
11 years ago
I'm thinking they took 'em last year when we went on a long vacation and I never noticed 'til now. Raspberry Sundae? Is that what they really call it? We just called it Strawberry Sundae because we thought they look like one. Thank you for the tip I will look around and see what I can find! I hope it comes back. The Peonies are my yards one true beauty! :)
marquest
11 years ago
You have my sympathy. I am amazed every time I read the rescue thought in people's mind. We are fast becoming a people with no moral compass. If we see something and we want we can create all kinds of excuses in our minds of why we should take a plant that does not belong to us.

I am a bit of a forward person I would ask them if they took the plant. If you do not want to be that direct. Tell them you had one like the plant they have and your plant seems to have disappeared and you would like to replace it and would appreciate they give you the name of where they found their plant.

Your experience is why when I see people thinking it is ok to take a plant from someones property without permission I speak up. I do not like to argue but I keep thinking if I explain why it is wrong incidents like yours will make people think before they steal/rescue a plant.
catt11
11 years ago
Like smivies said, dig around where your missing plants were to see if there is evidence of former roots, just to make sure they didn't just die. I have had peonies that had done well for several years, all of a sudden just not come up and had died for no good reason!

Also, if there is good evidence that your plants were stolen, I would just MAKE SURE it was the neighbors you suspect who did steal them and not someone else. It is a great way to forever poison neighbor relationships when you accuse them of doing something you have no proof of and they just might be innocent of! (Happened to a very red-faced friend of mine one time when the TRUTH eventually came out and proved her wrong in her accusations and bitter fight with the neighbor. She eventually moved because there was so much bitterness engendered by an unsubstantiated accusation! Very ugly situation!)
zack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian
11 years ago
Maybe you should just buy more of them and plant them farther way from the fence, or in in a better location for you to enjoy them?
mamasllamas
11 years ago
It's hard to undo your words once they are said and especially neighbors you got to live next to them,
also peonies take alittle bit to get going so if they took them last year and they're blooming this year? they may have liked yours so much they had bought some and now they're just starting to bloom.
if you're really sure they're yours, I would just consider it a great compliment that they loved them so much. i would do this i would go buy myself some more and buy an extra one and give it to your neighbor, take the high road, win with kindness.
you know they liked them, so why not buy an extra and share :)

I think my neighbor stole my Peonies!

Comments (7)

Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden

Smivies (Ontario - 5b)

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JadaMaria
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marquest

catt11

zack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian

mamasllamas

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I think my neighbor stole my Peonies!

Comments (7)

Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden

Smivies (Ontario - 5b)

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JadaMariaOriginal Author

marquest

catt11

zack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian

mamasllamas

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JadaMaria
Original Author