MAJOR ORCHID THEFT

[Cym Ladye]

Originally Posted by sweetjblue

This is a warning that I saw on The Orchid Mall. Felt that it warranted repeating as this applies to ALL orchid growers regardless of the species. Be sure to click on the link for the whole story. Really rather sad.
Judi

Thank you Judi for this post. We at Gold Coast are doing everything we can to help the owner find the thieves involved, and it undoubtedly was more than one person. To think that someone attending a club meeting or a show, writing down the names of the plants they wanted, learning where the plants they coveted were kept, scoping out their growing location when they were in bloom and then stealing them when they were out of bloom, is totally sick. Some suspect the thieves already had many of the plants sold on the black market dealing in this type of orchid before they were even taken. Some names may be changed and some plants may not show up until they come into bloom this spring.

The value in the Cymbidiums lies in the fact that the majority of plants stolen had flowers which are feathered, peloric, spotted or splashed and cannot be mericloned, hence the value. These plants were undoubtedly split up for the greatest profit!

Cym Ladye

[Junebug]

Some people will stoop to anything.

Years ago I was a victim of plant theft. The stolen plant was my first rose bush, a Peace Rose, and it was a beauty. I had raised it from bare root and it threw gigantic blooms. It was planted in the ground near my front door steps. Hubby and I left to go to the movies one evening and we returned to find a large hole in the ground where the rose bush had been growing. The inicident happened over 30 years ago and thinking about it still makes me mad to this day. It taught me a lesson, that's for sure.

Please be cautious about where you display your plants.

[jrodpad]

What a terrible loss. My heart really goes out to the victims of this crime. It makes you want to keep everything locked up. About 5 years ago there was a great local grower/vendor in Revere, MA, who had his greenhouse broken into - thieves took hundreds of plants and destroyed the rest of the greenhouse busting out all the glass. The proprietor was so distraught, he closed his doors for good. I hope that the police can find those responsible and return at least part of what was stolen.

If I had cyms on your list, I'd be sending divisions to help rebuild. I hope that others on the OB can help!

-J

[Gin]

I printed the list and will keep my eyes open I would check out Craig's list among others . Hope they catch the ( unmentionable ) person or persons . Gin

[Cattleya17]

This person is the scum of the earth!!!! ive never seen a feather petaled cymbidium orchid before!!! Does anyone have an example picture of what this type of flowers is?

people like this make me sick and i hate that people are like this!!!!!! i hope this person is caught and hung by their toes.

I really hope that The Victim will be able to restore the collection but even if they did, it took them undoubtedly years to grow them to that size, it will never really be the same!!!! i feel so bad for them

Thanks fully i dont have anything rare or exciting to steal but that doesnt mean anything.....I am also thankful only about 63 trustworthy people i see on a weekly basis know even grow them!

[orchids3]

For a long time I thought people who worried about orchid thieves were just peranoid. It is abundantly obvious that that is not true. I would be devistated if someone stole some of mine.

[sweetjblue]

[QUOTE=Cattleya17;451421]This person is the scum of the earth!!!! ive never seen a feather petaled cymbidium orchid before!!! Does anyone have an example picture of what this type of flowers is?

Cattleya17 try this link for an example of the feather petaled Cym. They are really quite unusual and beautiful.

Cymbidium Wild Woman 'Angela' at Santa Barbara Orchid Estate

[trdyl]

While I am not suprized that this has happened, it still is depressing. It just goes to show that there are POS individuals out there.

[Cattleya17]

MY OH MY That is STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sii]

I have to believe in karma.

A few months ago, in our local newspaper there was mention of an individual who was spotted with 90% burns to his body. The story goes on to say that this person was cracking into one of those big green boxes (don't remember what they are called) near those electrical towers. He was stealing copper wires. Well, he got his just desserts, as he was electrocuted - almost burned to death. I'm sure his insides were sizzled.