MIA: My new tree stolen !!

foxinsox

I know we are in a "recession" but I find it very very bad manners to steal a small tree:

I had an old Hebe in my garden, it was gone very woody and scrawny looking. So the other day I got the saw out and got rid of the whole thing.

I bought a new shrub/tree, an unusual lilac, the fact that it had pink flowers, I had never seen this variety before. It was about 2ft high and had about four fabulous smelling flowers on it.

I planted it monday afternoon in my front garden, even put fertiliser around the base!!
Tuesday morning, its gone !!!!

I did check around to see if maybe a dog/cat/fox/etc had dug it up and left it nearby..but I suspect there was serious human involvement in the abduction!

I have done the whole CSI thing, following the clues: bits of flowers on the road, soil that fell off the roots!! No joy.. Anyway even if I did find it, how do you approach someone who you think has "taken" a plant from your garden?

I am extremely dissapointed to think that someone would actually go to the bother of coming sometime during the night to "steal a plant"!

Anyone else experience such nonsense?

:mad: :mad:

Cabaal

Thats bloody unreal that somebody would steal a plant out of your garden!

Whats the world coming to eh, actually come think about it I was in WoodStock in Co Kilkenny and they had signs up about reporting people who are seen trying to steal plants, feckin scumbags

Thats so bloody nasty. To think someone comes on to your property and helps themselves.Stealing a tree is pathetic.

Sonnenblumen

It is unfortunately becoming increasingly common, and one has to be very careful in selecting which specimen trees/plants for front garden.

For example, potted Bay laurel standards + containers are stolen on a regular basis.

worded

Imagine claiming that on your house insurance!

Consider a light sensor on the front of your garden to ward off future pests. Steinil are the best brand (get a seperate flood light any brand 10 euros / use a low wattage + separate sensor - approx 60 euro go to a wholesaler somewhere )

Could it have been local teens acting the mick?

foxinsox

I've calmed down somewhat since my post!! Only slightly!!

My property/garden is in an estate, I do not have a surrounding wall or fence, kind of American style, public path goes right past the end of my lawn.

There is a street light right in front of my house.. I could barely afford the plant let alone a sensor light. I don't think it would have stopped the abduction anyway.

If it was local teens they'd probably just have chucked it and i would have found it by now. They're usually more interested in "bush" drinking than actual bushes.

I have heard that plants to get taken quite a bit now. So mainly just posted here to see if anyone else has experienced it.

GOOD NEWS: a friend has a white lilac so I'm going to "steal with her permission" a slip and see if I can get that to grow. So if anyone knows when/how is the best way to propagate white lilac I'd appreciate advice.

Thanks for everyone's comments so far.

deisemum

I've heard of this so many times and it's becoming a lot more common.

There was a discussion on local radio about this sort of thing a while back and so many potted up tubs, baskets, ornaments and even lawns are being dug up and stolen and in a lot of cases it seems the thiefs are stealing to order or even selling the stuff at car boot sales etc.

samantha2000

I am sorry that your tree was stolen! It reminded me of something that happened here two years ago. One of our neighbours, not the brightest bulb in the box bless him, decided he too wanted a nice garden, so during the night, he proceeded to pop into all the gardens along the terrace and 'dig up' his favourite plants. The next morning, all our gardens were missing some lovely plants, shrubs etc while his garden was blooming lovely.
The Cops didn't want to know, so he has now got one of the best gardens in the area.
You gotta' laugh:D

Cabaal

Nobody took back their plants then?

samantha2000

Cabaal wrote: »

Nobody took back their plants then?

He denied taking them, the boys in blue would not get involved and as he was no threat to Stephen Hawking in the brains department, we decided to let it be.:)

suey71

this happened to me a couple of years ago too. i followed the trail of soil but to no avail. then, about 3 months later i was looking out of my upstairs back window and i saw the tree in my neighbours' back garden, all dead:(. so i climbed over the back wall and took it back, and left it out in my back garden. this so called neighbour then knocked around and gave out hell that we had the nerve to steel it back. strange person. but felt i good while doing it .

Cabaal

suey71 wrote: »

this so called neighbour then knocked around and gave out hell that we had the nerve to steel it back. strange person. but felt i good while doing it .

He was dumb enough to say that?
wow...just WOW

suey71

it was a woman. she said she found the tree and brought it in to her back garden. but she just left it there on the ground to die.left it there for months. this womans house backs directly on to ours and about a month later we got a visit from an inspector of some sorts who told us that he had a complaint that we were running an illegal creche from our house, which was a lie, as a matter of fact we were on our way to leave our son off to his playschool. we told him this and he said maybe we had a disgruntled neighbour. we put 2+2 together and so on. we've only ever seen this woman once since we moved in 6 years ago. some people are v. strange.

worded

suey71 wrote: »

it was a woman. she said she found the tree and brought it in to her back garden. but she just left it there on the ground to die.left it there for months. this womans house backs directly on to ours and about a month later we got a visit from an inspector of some sorts who told us that he had a complaint that we were running an illegal creche from our house, which was a lie, as a matter of fact we were on our way to leave our son off to his playschool. we told him this and he said maybe we had a disgruntled neighbour. we put 2+2 together and so on. we've only ever seen this woman once since we moved in 6 years ago. some people are v. strange.

Nout odd as folk. I know a person and their neighbour trimmed their shared back garden hedge to one foot in height! Had no privacy then. Was replaced with a fence. Weird or wha?

suey71

I once cut my friendly next door neighbours grass and he went ballistic because i cut it too short. and i mean ballistic!!!. there was no fence between our gardens so i took it upon myself to be a good neighbour and cut his grass, and bam! so I put up a fence. amazing thing is that I've never once seen him cut the grass, only his partner. she tells me that he comes from a farming background and hates grass. some people are deffo nout odd as folk.

Orion

samantha2000 wrote: »

The Cops didn't want to know, so he has now got one of the best gardens in the area.
You gotta' laugh:D

I'd have only laughed as I took them back the next night tbh. And if a bottle of Roundup happened to spill on his own stuff - that'd be a tragedy

Belfast

foxinsox wrote: »

I've calmed down somewhat since my post!! Only slightly!!

GOOD NEWS: a friend has a white lilac so I'm going to "steal with her permission" a slip and see if I can get that to grow. So if anyone knows when/how is the best way to propagate white lilac I'd appreciate advice.

Thanks for everyone's comments so far.

"Answer
Lilacs only root readily for about two weeks out of the year! Two weeks after the blooms fade, take 6-8" cuttings of the new growth, remove the lowest pair of leaves, dip cut ends in rooting hormone and stick in moist Vermiculite. Put the container in a large plastic bag, close it with a twist-tie and put in a shady location. You should have roots in 6-8 weeks, at which time open the plastic bag for an hour the first day and an hour longer each day for a week or so. Then pot up the cutting in a well-draining growing mix and fertilizer lightly. Keep the plant out of direct sun. You should be able to plant it out in September."
rest of the detail in the link below
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Wildflowers-743/cutting-Lilac-Bush-prune.htm

"A: Lilac cuttings easily root if taken in mid-June. The cuttings should be 8 to 10 inches long. Dip the cuttings in a rooting hormone and then stick them in a sand medium under mist. Lilacs characteristically develop a nice mass of roots."
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/hortiscope/shrub/lilac.htm

foxinsox

Thanks Belfast for the advice, I'll try that.

CSI UPDATE ON MIA PLANT

No further sightings of plant.
No further forensic evidence found.
Still roundy hole in garden ..
Still confused ..

:eek:

Thanks for all your comments!