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how to protect tree from being stolen

millie5549cXDWkVEsmillie5549cXDWkVEs Posts: 1
in Tools and techniques
Someone stole a two year old japanese red maple tree out of my yard. The tree had caught root; and was going to be gorgeous this year. Never knew anyone would take Her. It broke my heart. I have another one being delivered today; $105.00. How can i prevent theft of this tree?
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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Horrible for you @millie5549cXDWkVEs. I'm not sure there's a lot you can do unless your plot is completely fenced off, or has a surrounding wall, and a security gate or similar. 
    Have you any idea who may have done it? If you have a cctv camera that you can put in a prominent site, with an appropriate sign, that might help deter would be thieves.

    Have you got a photo of your site? That might help with ideas.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • TenNTenN Posts: 184
    I've got an Amelanchier at the front of the house in a container, it blew over one winter so I rehomed it in a much bigger pot with two slabs in the bottom. Every now and again I find that someone has had a go at taking it and thought twice, the footage from the doorbell is hilarious. 
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    There's some potentially useful advice here:
    https://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/preventing-theft-from-the-garden/611/property-and-plants-at-risk-and-what-to-do/

    I like the chicken wire idea, or a ground anchor.  Microchipping your tree is possible but only works to potentially recover it if the police find it.  If it's in a pot rather than the ground though, you may need to think of a different solution. 

    My dad had a lovely dwarf weeping conifer stolen from his garden - just pulled out of the ground.  He gave up and replaced it with a bog standard plant which was less attractive to thieves.  Such a shame though.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    Someone once stole a potted bay tree I had, it was a good 30m from the road. I'd had that bay for 10 years and was very attached to it. At the end of term it reappeared at the gate, it had apparently just been borrowed by some students.
  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    We put new plants in the front garden one time, but by the next morning, they'd been dug up and removed.

    Another time we put shrubs in some very heavy concrete tubs - so heavy, that I had to shift them one end at a time, just to manoeuvre them into position. One night some unpleasant types somehow lifted them (I'm guessing there were at least three of them) and smashed the tubs on the driveway. 

    And no, I've still not bothered with cameras. I refuse to go down that route!

    If I lose something, I'll replace it. Chances are it'll still be cheaper than installing and maintaining a CCTV system. 
  • Songbird-2Songbird-2 Posts: 2,349
    It's incredible that some people will steal actual plants from others gardens! I've never had that experience nor heard of anyone here having a plant etc something stolen out of their garden! It's unbelieveable and appalling. I am sorry to hear some of you have gone through that. I'd be drilling a deep hole somewhere and attaching a chain and padlock but who knows if that would stop them if they were determined enough?!
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    My solution would be to bury about 1 square metre of heavy duty chicken wire, concrete rebar reinforcement or something similar about 6” below the soil. Cut a good size hole in the middle for the trunk and spread the roots below the mesh. It would be a real pain to dig out and, once the roots have established a little, impossible to pull out.

    You’d need to keep an eye on the tree to be sure the trunk has not become too chunky for the hole in the mesh and, once that point is reached, take remedial action.
    Rutland, England
  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960
    I have seen people swipe individual flowers from my front garden, but never the whole damn plant. My neighbour round the road had some planters of tulips stolen last week and was gutted. But a whole fecking tree??! 

    Trip wires? Perhaps a  cage around the tree. Electrified?
  • M33R4M33R4 Posts: 291
    We have CCTV too but I still avoid leaving valuable planters that can be carried away.  A Japanese Acer is an expensive plant and if it can be easily taken it may well be depending on where you live.
    I wish I could garden all year round!
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Many decades ago friends of my parents had between 40 and 50 conifers stolen overnight.  They had only been planted to form a boundary to their property a few days before.
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