Bamboo Bandit Clips Again, Leaving Officials at Botanical Gardens Stumped

The thief apparently knew exactly what he wanted, and he got it. Sheriff’s deputies say they are bamboozled, with no leads to go on.

A bandit, perhaps the same one who struck 12 months ago, has cut $1,000 worth of bamboo shoots from a rare collection of the exotic, woody grasses at the Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas.

About 10 cuttings from each of 10 different species of bamboo were discovered missing last week by Richard Haubrich, president of the American Bamboo Society who weekly checks on the well-being of the gardens’ 50-species bamboo collection.

It was the kind of thievery that may seem ho-hum, if not a bit esoteric, to most lay persons, but drives floriculture experts crazy.

“We’ve gone to a lot of trouble to collect many of these bamboos,” said Haubrich, a Solana Beach resident who founded the American Bamboo Society in 1979.

Rare Shoots Stolen

Among the bamboo shoots taken were ones from a clump of Bambusa dolichoclada , an orange-yellow-stemmed bamboo distinguished by green stripes and imported from Taiwan.

Also taken were shoots from a grayish-green bamboo native to China, Bambusa beecheyana , which can reach heights of 50 feet and have a diameter of 4 inches.

The shoots represented new spring growth at the base of clumps of existing bamboos, and their loss will mean new growth will not occur again until next year, Haubrich said. The plants don’t reach maturity for 50 to 100 years.

No entire species of bamboo was lost, and Haubrich noted that “backup plants” representing the 50 species on display at Quail Botanical Gardens are growing at undisclosed locations elsewhere.

He speculated that the bandit, who apparently scaled the gardens’ fence at night, will grow the young shoots, which are relatively easy to transplant, into mature plants and then sell them as ornamentals.

Haubrich said the bamboo bandit knew what he was after: “I can’t say he took the most valuable ones, but he took ones that could propagate from cuttings. He knew he could grow bamboo from these.”

The gardens are owned and operated by the county Parks and Recreation Department and feature 30 acres of Mediterranean-climate plants, including hibiscus, cactus succulents and what is believed to be the nation’s largest collection of bamboos.

The value of various bamboos is somewhat relative, but because of import restrictions and because bamboo is kept in quarantine for two years before it is released for planting, “getting these rare species is rather expensive and time-consuming,” Haubrich said.

Plant Thefts Common

Plant pilfering isn’t all that unusual, authorities say, especially given the number of nurseries operating in San Diego County and the demand for ornamentals.

There have been any number of cases of palm trees being plucked right out of the ground throughout the county, said Vincent Lazaneo, the horticulture adviser for the University of California Cooperative Extension. City public works departments and individual homeowners alike have reported such thefts over the years.

“People are always looking for large trees for landscaping, and palms are especially good targets,” he said. “Sometimes they’re taken right out of the ground after they’re planted in a new subdivision, before they’ve had a chance to root.”

Lazaneo said contractors often are hired to remove palm trees from residential yards, so it is not unusual for a landscaper to be offered palm trees for sale from individuals. A landscaper would have little or no idea if he were being pitched a hot palm, Lazaneo said.

“I’ve seen some people put chains around their palm trees and anchor the chains to concrete posts so they won’t be stolen,” he said.

The action isn’t limited to palms. “We’ve had people in the backcountry complain that their oak trees have been dug out of their property,” he said.

Now, bamboo?

“They’ve got quite a nice collection of bamboo at Quail Botanical Gardens, and it seems someone may have lusted after some of it and decided to grab it,” Lazaneo said. “It’ll probably end up in someone’s private collection somewhere.”