MAJOR ORCHID THEFT
 

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.

>>>> MAJOR ORCHID THEFT <<<<
This is a warning to ALL Orchid Enthusiasts to be aware and on the lookout for stolen orchid plants.
Please refer to the following link: Gold Coast Cymbidium Growers - ****************** Major Orchid Theft
In addition to those plants listed, lycastes and Laelia anceps were also stolen. Due to the large size of these orchid plants, there is a possibility they may have already been divided into smaller divisions and sold on the black market. If you see or hear of any of these unique plants being offered for sale or hear of anyone purchasing one, please contact orchidtheft2011@gmail.com. Any kind of information and help will be appreciated and kept confidential.
There is an updated article "A Real Orchid Thief" published in the most recent issue of the CSA Journal, pages 32 - 34.


Judi

thats terrible!

WOW! They are all very large plants and majority are in 2 gal pots...we windowsill growers cant take care of those very big plants...it will take up all our windows! But I feel sorry for the owner, they are all expensive hybrids...and no matter what : its $30,000.00 worth of orchids ! But good luck in selling them...those hybrids are rare and it will be hard to sell them even if they partition the bulbs into small portions

The person who stole them is sick! My orchids/plants are common, cheap, and relatively easy to replace, but I am very fond of them. I'd worry that they would suffer. I can't imagine what the victim is going through. I hope the orchids are found and are in good condition. He should have friends scour the Internet (forum chats, sale sites, auction sites, amazon, eBay), shows, flea markets, auction places, garden centers, and anywhere else orchids are unloaded. They have to be somewhere. The worst is, it is probably someone the owner has met.
Leafmite

I dont own any of the orchids on the list(Theres no species...its all very expensive hybrids...those are collections for the rich and whoever can afford it)

Well. Copper-aluminum electric cables,fiber optic, manhole covers, now orchids.Hang tight folks. Aint good and I don't see it getting better any time soon.:((

My screenname seems inappropriate now :-(

I just saw a local news story recently about a string of potted plant thefts here in Hawaii. It sounded so bizarre but I guess its becoming a trend.

This is terrible!! :(( It's getting to be a regular occurance.
I remember ast year that there was someone on OB that posted about their entire Cym collection being stolen from a fenced in backyard overnight. All were in bloom, and all had sentimental value for the person because they had belonged to a grandparent.

this is terrible. it has to be someone who grows orchids because why would anyone steal them. the normal population excluding us wouldnt know what an orchid is or even tell the cym from a grass. my mom was warning me about summering my plants outdoors and id ignore her. i have an appology to make.

That is shameful, and I agree with whoever wrote the article that the link goes to: the worst part is that the person(s) who stole the plants knew what he or she was looking at and was familiar with them. Hopefully the nasty individual who's responsible will get caught.

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

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.

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

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

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!

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.

[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

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.

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

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.

That's like stealing your children!

I would urge everyone to keep their eyes open to all potential sale's of these orchids. Yes, there are reputable dealers in these plants out there, but even they now need to be carefully checked out.

I will repeat the "hot line" email address given in the initial post on this thread to send to if anyone spots any links of ads offering these plants for sale:

orchidtheft2011@gmail.com

CL

The more eyes watching the better.

Agree!