Oh no, that's awful! Were the plants at your house?

That's awful. I can't imagine someone doing such a thing. What area do you live in. Maybe I can help you replace some of them.

How sad...what is the world coming to?
Angie

What?? Where were they? Not that it matters theft is theft
I am so sorry that happened to you. I hate it when something like this happens, People are so disappointing sometimes
jolana

"People are so disappointing sometimes"

Yes....and with depressing frequency.

Sorry this happened to you and as Carol said, if we can help you replace anything, let us know.

Kristi

This is so disappointing to think someone would do this. Where are you located? And can you protect yourself from having this happen again?

I was schocked, I had given hundreds of plants to the people around us. They were at our place in the national forest near Montgomery. Thank god they didnt take my mamma staghorn, it is too big to move. They tore up a big brug that was 8 ft. tall by the roots, about 2 dozen rose cuttings that I just potted, 2 giant varagated airplane plants. what hurt most is the taking of the mamma plants. I hope that whoever took them takes care fo them thanks for the responces Allen

I hope wherever your plants are, they are cared for and are growing. I get so disgusted when I hear of gardeners having plants stolen like this.

This shows what big hearts we have here at Texas Gardening:

"Maybe I can help you replace some of them."

"Sorry this happened to you and as Carol said, if we can help you replace anything, let us know."

Allen: I'm so sorry to hear this, we give them so much love and care we know almost every leaf they carry. Being from the same area if you care to as bad as it sounds plants are a fast money maker this time of year.Montgomery and Liberty county run over with flea markets my neighbor found most of her stolen plants being sold on the side of the road at a flea market on 105 in Conroe, Shameful what some people will do.

Allen, please let us know if we can help. I can certainly help you with brug replacement this fall when I cut my back. Please let me know.

Wow...the depths people will sink to. Digging up a plant that large. Do you think it would be a deterrant to place a sign saying the property was being monitored? If you have a way, you can wire small web cameras to spy and can even have the footage live on line so you can see from whereever you can log in.

Frankly, somebody stealing my plants would make me madder than stealing my stuff. If they asked, I would likely give it to them.........

I'm so sorry you lost your stuff.

People are crazy...not too long back someone on GW had all their rose bushes dug up during the night - I can not believe people are so bold as to go into another persons yard and start digging up plants!!! It is almost scarey...they evedentially have no fear.

What's too fear......the law will slap them on the wrist, and turn them loose.

The legal system is a lawyer's dream, and an honest citizen's nightmare.

Sure sounds like someone who is going to try to sell them. Can you put the word out to all your gardening friends who might be going to flea markets & such? Were the plants near your house? That's pretty brazen, unless they had been watching to see when you were home or not.

This makes me want to move my potted brugs into the fenced part of the yard. They're out where anybody could throw them in a pickup and drive off in seconds flat.

Were any of these thefts in a small town? I can't imagine that happening here--everybody knows everybody's business, and we only have one little garden center. The plants would surely be too easily identified here. Not to mention that most folks out here are known to protect their property with a shotgun, and would just as soon fill a thief's britches with birdshot as fend off a coyote from their livestock.

Pathetic to know someone sinks to that!

Tie some treble fish hooks near the bottom of good ones you have left & let 'em they make another run on your place.
I wired some under the rim of pots when someone kept taking large plants off my patio a few years ago. Ya' shoulda' heard 'em howl.

I'm a mean ol' hussy!

Suzi

Suzi, you are GREAT!!!!!

Hurray for Suzi, that's a good idea!

Susy that a great idea - I'm gonna have to remember that.

rick_mcdaniel "What's too fear......the law will slap them on the wrist, and turn them loose" -
I wasn't meaning the law - I was thinking more of a Texas home owner with a gun. If I caught someone in my yard in that type act - they'd certainly be getting a good view of my .38...my hubby and I have a CHL for that reason: to our protect our property and family.
One day those theives will cross the wrong person.

Yay Suzi! Did you see who it was? There should be a place to post photos of plant thieves like they post child molesters.

OMG! That is AWFUL!!! It can happen anywhere. There are guys working on this gas line thingie and some other stuff(not sure) there are crews at any rate.The stuff their working on is out by the big roads not in the neighborhood itself. I noticed today one of the crew guys went outta his way just to stroll through my neighborhood. I noticed he had a keen eye on my property. (He couldn't see me where I was) He gave a start when he saw the dogs(they don't bark) and went quickly on. I don't know if he was checking out the house or it was a punk looking 20 something with a eye for pretty flowers. Anyway, I was glad the dogs gave him a start!
I hear you about being a mean ole lady Suzi! LOL! I like the fish hook idea too! I lived in a bad neighborhood that had a LOT of crime. One of the deals I made moving in was my dogs moved in too for protection. The lady that owned the house I was renting confessed that criminals would hop the fence in the back,break in and burgerlize the place about once a year. You want to talk about howling!
These stupid fools didn't catch on the full 4 yrs I was livng there! You'd hear the chain link rattle,hear the dogs running(no barking allowed!),some girlie shrieks(being made by males).... more chain link rattling and snarling,swearing and girlie shrieks...LOL! We'd laugh hard enough to just about hurt ourselves! PJ

Check the drain holes of your containers. The larger ones maybe arranged to where if you line the containers up, you can run rebar through the drain holes, thereby tying them together and making them difficult to move. Here's a crude drawing.

The only problem is you have to fill your containers in place.

~james

p.s. I was kidding about the copyright... feel free to use my image freely ;)

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your plants. That is just disgusting!

Dang no wonder I have huge dogs....and my Baby white boxer ...man I have said we need to socialize him..he is just mean!!!
Yet sometimes I LIKE him being so mean, evan at 6 months old....He is VERY protective ALREADY....Should I correct this or not??...And then I read this story...Noo...maybe I should Not!
Dena

Yesterday when we left to walk the dogs I noticed one of the glads was blooming, purple. On the way back I saw some plants laying in my neighbors yard. Right, it was my glads! Apparently they just pulled up the bulb, ripped off the flower stalk and threw them in my neighbors yard! One is getting ready to bloom so I'll replant them tonight. PIGS!
It happens everywhere. We had to put locks on our gates and barbed wire on top of them to keep the punks next door out. Ya'll have heard me rant about them! We get a new group about every 5-6 months, you never know if you'll get thieves or killers.
I really like the fishhook idea!
Tally HO!

That fish hook idea is GREAT and so is locking down the pots, I can't believe we are talking about this tho, what a shame

Tally, I agree they are PIGS

These people are worse than pigs. Hello, bacon is delicious! Maybe grub worms or maggots?

I am so sorry about your loss. I really like the fish hook idea. I can only imagine the depths someone must go to in order to steal someone else's work.

I was the one who had the rose bushes lifted out of her yard. Plus, two weeks later my dad had 4 year old azelas ripped from the ground. We have both installed security cameras for the outside of our homes with NO warning signs. We want to catch the thieves and post their picture in the paper.

As for it happening in a small town, it happened here in Corsicana, a town of 25K.

Well, if we ever catch the thieves, we will post the pictures here for maximum embarrassment.

Or, Jolana, we could just plant the climbing pink fairy rose where they would have to go through it to get to the other plants ---- that would deter ANYTHING or ANYBODY!!!!

denaw, I'd train that puppy and socialize it. An untrained protection animal is a disaster waiting to happen. Mean dogs are more dangerous than they are a help IMHO. Dogs need to be told who they can and cannot attack. They don't know the mailman from a thief sort of thing. It's not a hard thing to train protection dogs. It just takes a bit of time is all.
For example my "girls" (dogs) can be running full out after someone and I can give a quick set of commands and they turn on a dime and come back to me and sit or lie down. I really would be upset if one of them had to be destroyed because they bit the wrong person for too many reasons to even list. (Dog and the person injured). A boxer is a powerful animal that really needs a firm hand and solid socialization and training. PJ

Carrie, that is so true, sounds funny tho, This property protected by Climbing Pink Fairy, LOL

Dena, I agree with PJ

Also, did you know that some people I know think White Boxers are Pit Bulls? I've heard that so many times
It's like people that don't know one snake from another kill rat snakes or other non poisonous ones and say they killed a copperhead or rattler

No, didn't see his face- only his back as he took off, but the air turned real blue. Do ya' think it was all those nasty words he was saying that caused that? I called out loudly to him, addressing him by his initials; ya' know S.B. with an O in the middle?)to invite him back to see me shoot our new shotgun...but he never did.
Suzi

Were there fishhooks in the shotgun too?? (LOL!) That's smart something! LOL!PJ

I had some huge hanging baskets stolen one year and it was a few days before Canton Trade Days started. I'm close--Tyler, so I felt like they showed up in Canton. I wanted to strangle them.

I'll bet the fishhook trick would work on hanging baskets too! It sucks you got your baskets stolen. PJ

Can we train the fairy to shoot the shotgun filled with fishhooks? Now that would be a site to see!

I'd bet too those hanging baskets showed up in Canton, probably with a pretty price tag.

My dogs bark and look fierce but unless you get near Bo's tail you're safe. He'll beat you to death with it.
Tally HO!

PJ, I totally agree. I will not have an agressive dog. My Hannah (the big female) can sound like she is ready to kill but would lick you to death. Did you go to obedience school with yours? He is going to be a really big dog and I would die if he ever did bite someone...Yet he is around my GS all the time and just as gentle as he could be...
Hmmm...How did you train yours to stop and come back..I'd like to teach all of mine that...my neighbor has a dalmation and she is deaf (not that my female boxer knows this) and she will take off full force around the garage to the fence and ram the fence after the dalmation...will not listen to a word I say..yet we can put them on leashes and walk them togather and they are best friends..
Seriously I do not want my white boxer to be mean, which is why I have loved boxers for so long because they have such sweet temperments.
Thanks all!
Dena

My situation is different than most. I started training dogs in basic obedience at the park when I was a kid with adults that knew how to train. Later, my family and many of our friends were into dog shows. It's a bit different having a class with lots of dogs around where everyone knows everyone.
I reccommend a formal training class. A lot of people reccommend puppy preschool before 6 months but I socialize my dogs with friend's dogs and dogs I know before 6 months of age. Dogs are vulnerable to parvo before 6 months(even with shots etc..) and I'm too chicken to chance it!Legit training places require shots but public places have had dogs in them that could be infected that aren't in the class.It's a personal decision.
The method I worked with was the New Skete program. Bascially, my dogs didn't need to be trained to attack. They are geared that way. Most dogs will readily protect their territory naturally. Even a sweet dog can surprise you! They needed a boss(me) and to do what I said because I'm the leader and know best(usually!) Alpha dog etc,...
I really liked and based most of my practices training on the Monks of New Skete method. I also threw in some anti-aggression training I picked up here and there. For example no dogs on the furniture and crate training. Good luck! If you have any more questions feel free to email!!PJ

Here is a link that might be useful: New Skete

oh I hate to admit it...this is straying too! We have a house on our corner that has just about been abandoned. The old man that lived there I think died and no one takes care of the house. We walk our dog at night past it each night. Dark, dreary place. But....they have some beautiful roses and gardenias....that continue to bloom without care. Everynight we walk, I think...ooooo I would love to snatch that rose bush! But of course I NEVER would! It is not mine...but I think I would take such better care of it!

One night hubby and I came home to find teens parked IN our yard from a party a block away. We were sooooo mad. We went inside, and got the honey bear jar. We poured honey all ove r the door handles. We did not want to vandalize or hurt the car...but we wanted to teach them a lesson. We camped out in our bedroom with lights off waiting for them to come back. ROFL!!!!!! It was hilarious! They were cussing and wiping. I thought of this when I read about the fish hooks...as much as I would hate to see someone get hurt, I would love to see someone boobytrapped while trying to steal a plant.

yummykaz, that's too funny. Wonder if they knew who did it or figured it was one of their friends. lol I think I would have called a tow truck & let them pay for it.

thank you PJ..and yep..a tow would have been great...and leave a note in the driveway where their truck WAS..saying you can call this # to pick up your truck...Then they would have to literally PAY to pick their truck up...and imagine if that truck were MOMMY'S OR DAD'S...Then they would surely pay..
Dena