By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — Green-thumbed thieves are reportedly nabbing potted plants and flowers on the Upper West Side.
Whether they're growing along neighborhood streets or even in yards, flowers and plants that aren't tied down are at risk of being taken away and sold, residents say.
"Yes, all over, they even dig them out of back yards," said Pete Panos, from Embassy Florist on West 91st and Broadway. "You walk on the street and look at the front yards and they are missing plants."
Panos said some residents spend hundreds of dollars on their greenery, such as the Cadia Palm, which can cost from $800 to $1,200 for a set of four in a pot.
But most thieves don't understand the value of the plants they steal, Panos said.
"Maybe they pick up a $100 plant and sell it for $2 on the street," he said. Or sometimes, Panos said, the theft is senseless destruction evidenced by pulled plants discarded on the streets.
Jay Kasiano, from Plant Shed on West 96th Street and Broadway, said the plant theft in Manhattan is not as bad as a decade ago, and there are ways to prevent it, such as chain plants down.
Potted plants can also be weighted down to prevent theft, he said.
But there is little protection for plants that decorate city streets. One flower designer told WCBS-TV.com that some tulips were gone two weeks after being planted, and a second planting was yanked within hours.
