The things that get nicked these days

[choppaholic]

mods please move if in wrong section;

How many of us wake up to see that the hedge on your drive has been nicked overnight, that’s right.
I planted a new hedge 2 weeks ago and today I woke up to a barren drive, some low life nicked all the 45 plants overnight that was 9 meter hedging 1.2 meters tall so no small feat, must have had a van that’s how I got them home.
It must have been well planned as the b::stards waited for a day it rained heavily and the soil was soft and loose, also means they been eyeing my drive for a sometime. My house isn’t on the main road either and you really have to live there to actually use my street it’s not one of the streets you cut across to avoid traffic or something. You can't just be walking around and think oh that’s a nice hedge lets nick it, unless the plants are just planted you can’t nick a 1.2 meter high hedge as the roots will not come out so I am guessing someone knew about this.

I can get new plants but what worries me is what’s stopping them coming back and helping themselves again, these aren’t cheap plants either they cost near as much as decent 500 size heli and took the nursery 3-4 years to grow, police says no point in CCTV as you will not see much at night and if they got a hoody it doesn’t really help.

Thing is I really want a hedge even though fencing would be cheaper a hedge is so much nicer. So anyone know how one can protect a hedge from getting nicked, according to law a front hedge cannot be electrified or thorny and any damage to public by such thing and I am liable even though they should not be there in the first place.

Any ideas would be much appreciated, otherwise I can’t see how I can ever grow a hedge, This may be the wrong forum but would appreciate your views, I am sure a lot of us addicts are keen gardeners.

My property doesn’t neighbour anyone’s it in the corner of the street, so I need to stop people cutting across and scratching my car and walking across my drive.

[trillian]

That's insane! Do you think they will sell the plants? It defies logic in my mind.

[choppaholic]

I don’t know what they want to do with them, but the plants just came off the pots 2 weeks ago so the roots would not have grown outward yet, I can see clear hole the shape of pots from where they pulled them out.

If you were in that trade you could very easily sell them as root ball plants and for a plant which is 3-4 years old will fetch very good money, if you in the trade then I guess you could sell them to someone for nearly the same money as what I bought them for.
Also there are not many places locally were you can buy large quality 1.2m high hedging plants no local gardening centre had it in stock when I checked and I checked about 15 of them at least, this was a Griselinia littoralis plant (https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=889), which is a very nice medium oval leave evergreen plant and quite hard to find locally. If you want to sell it would say be easy consider the type of plant.

To me it was shock that people would actually nick plants I haven’t even thought of such a thing, I don’t know what the world is coming down to.

I am a bit down as I really want a hedge in my front drive but I can’t see these low life’s every giving it a chance to grow, a hedge takes nearly 10 years to establish to a thick hedge and to cut short of time I bought bigger and thicker plants, its called instant hedging, I guess which is what made it more attractive to nicking.

[choppaholic]

Unbelievable. What about a length of chain locked around the bases temporarily while the roots grow? You could always spray the chain brown so it's not to much of an eyesore.

How long before the roots take hold?

That’s not a bad idea, I would paint it at all , I would want them to know its there so it prevents then pulling it out, just imagine if they don’t see it and they pull it out I will have a bigger task to sort out later.

Plus where do I anchor the chain to what size of chain will damage the plant if too tight too loose etc.. I wouldn’t have a clue this is my first house I am just about getting on with house things not to mention maintenance costs etc.. which is all new to me, rented flats are so trouble free. Not even sure what a good 10-15meter chain would cost and where to get one and how to I anchor it as no wall nearby only flat ground. But defo sounds good idea providing it would deter them

no idea on roots but i would guess at least a good 6 months to a year

[p4ddy]

Sounds more like the actions of a disgruntled neighbour to me. Someone doesn't want you changing things or may feel your trying to hide something and they don't like that. I would set up an alarm, tie fishing line around a few leading to a cow bell or something or rig up an airhorn to be certain to alert you so you can catch the fu..rs

I once done something like that, i knew someone was after my NS400 so i tied fishing line around the bike which led through the kitchen window and around my big toe whilst i slept on the sofa. I tested it & it worked & they never tried nicking my bike again lol

[pgkevet]

Less likely to be a neighbour than soemone who wants a hedge or wants to sell a hedge..always worth blaming the gyppos. Razor wire round the roots sounds good..but these days if you hurt a burglar...
About all you can do is the added cost of chickenwire both sides and a lot of green garden wire through the plants to make it nigh impossible to undo at night while they root in properly - and then the nuisance of untangling it all for yourself later

[choppaholic]

Not sure on the neighbour thing as the only guy I talk to in the street is my immediate neighbour and he’s building a wall himself, I may just ask him to build one my end as well. Plus the mud trail from the plant goes about 30 meters from home on to the side of the road where there’s a pile of mud and then it disappears looks like thats where they parked the van

[kev2009]

Not sure on the neighbour thing as the only guy I talk to in the street is my immediate neighbour and he’s building a wall himself, I may just ask him to build one my end as well. Plus the mud trail from the plant goes about 30 meters from home on to the side of the road where there’s a pile of mud and then it disappears looks like thats where they parked the van

Have a drive round local, these won't be far, it's not good landscape gardeners do this sort of thing, it's ones doing drives ripping people off,

Big thing to is artifcial grass a lot off that going missing,

The best way if you got room, is to fetch them on in troff about 3 per run, 3 month then plant as a whole root, this is how council are doing it now, and you'll notice the round abouts used to look nice, but same there, they gone next day,

Kev

[electricsceadu]

as the police will tell you that they've more than likely gone back to poland
keep an eye out for them and give them some learning
south africa style

[choppaholic]

The best way if you got room, is to fetch them on in troff about 3 per run, 3 month then plant as a whole root, this is how council are doing it now, and you'll notice the round abouts used to look nice, but same there, they gone next day,

Kev

not sure what you mean mate, but if i understand right, you mean plant in say a 1 meter run for 3 months then pot them together as one root, but then low lifes can will lift off in meters know? and the roots wont join in 3 months the nursery i bought said a good 6month to-1year for the root to spread out and interlock.

looking more on the net, seems these things are getting common;


http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com...nd-what-to-do/

[josh h]

WTF is this country coming too?
cant believe somebody would actually Nick a hedge!

[mark_w]

Can you get any CCTV setup? or even one of those wildlife cameras that records when there is movement?

I have had the concrete pillar tops from my front wall removed twice. luckily both times I have found them down the road, but when I informed the police they said that it must have been drunks, even though I showed them where a chisel had be used to get them off!

[nitromad]

Most effective deterrence I find is a simple pir floodlight hooked to a second light on slight delay timer in my case a lamp next to window facing drive.This then looks as if I turned on lamp to see what going on with light/dog barking the tick is in the timing. Light on-----10 secs later barker on------5secs lamp on---------light off--------1min barker off-------10mins lamp off This as cut the ASB to nothing at front of my house also used a pir activated barker

[goldslinger]

one way is to plant the hedge again then put up a cheap fence so they are out of site for there first couple of years when the roots will have established
also the fence will protect the plants from the worst of the weather
and once the hedge is established you can flog off the fence in your local paper/corner shop

[RcRotaryMadness]

Can't believe someone would nick a hedge!? Can only think a disgruntled neighbour or someone local who is nicked it for their garden?

Any local houses or shops with cctv?

try planting something else, have cameras set up and hope they come back and nick that? Get a reg plate etc.