Does anyone know the rules on an abdoned house/garden ? (Fruit Trees, Rose Bushes)
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I don't get why the guy didn't just take some cuttings. That makes much more sense to me and then you have unlimited rose bushes instead of one. Same with the fruit trees - propagate.
I don't get why the guy didn't just take some cuttings. That makes much more sense to me and then you have unlimited rose bushes instead of one. Same with the fruit trees - propagate.
Obviously, you don't know much about plant propogation. Sure! Take cuttings (still looting, IMO) and just plunk them in water or sand and voila! Rose bushes and fruit trees!
I earned a certificate in plant propogation and even I wouldn't try to do roses or fruit trees from cuttings. I'd rather walk over ground glass.
Several years ago as I drove down one road, close to my house, I noticed a van with out-of-state license plates. It was parked on the side of the road and was busy removing the vegetation growing on the outside of a fence. About a half mile later there was a local police car sitting on the side of the road. I stopped and asked him if he knew of the vegetation being removed from in front of the one house. He told me that he did not and that he would go back and check it out.
The people removing the landscaping could have been professionals or not? Regardless; somebody would have to explain why they were doing what they were doing. In this case; the house was not abandoned and the owners had spent a lot of money on the landscaping.
The point I am making is to always do the right thing. Get permission (like the OP's brother) and avoid problems.
I don't get why the guy didn't just take some cuttings. That makes much more sense to me and then you have unlimited rose bushes instead of one. Same with the fruit trees - propagate.
Taking cuttings or one pebble from somebody's property is just as bad as digging up the plant. I had a wonderful collection of very expensive specialty azaleas in my front yard. Every year the same a..hole would drive his truck right in the front of my house, hop out and take a bunch of cuttings. The 4th year I got his license plate, had him investigated and had a lawyer write him a letter threatening to charge him with theft if he ever set foot on my property again. I never saw him again but you can be sure mine was not the only property he stole from. I would have put him in jail if i could have. Now the strange thing is that I had a friend who asked once if she could get a cutting and I was happy to oblige. It's the idea of this jerk feeling so entitled he could drive up in broad daylight and steal from me which really chapped me....
The original post stated the elderly lady had died and had no family, so obviously the home was bank owned. The agent said they were going to raze the house. I think it was smart to ask, to be on the safe side, and can't see why people are still upset even after the guy asked and got permission. I've had people ask me for cuttings of my plants, and am always happy to oblige. I feel flattered that someone likes what I've grown.
I don't get why the guy didn't just take some cuttings. That makes much more sense to me and then you have unlimited rose bushes instead of one. Same with the fruit trees - propagate.
Oooh. Now this is a great idea. Granted he'd be trespassing and still stealing...but to a lesser degree LOL...but he could learn something and get free plants. I don't know about fruit trees, but propagating roses is easy.
I don't even think the real estate agent has the authority to give your brother permission to take plants from the property. It is not the agent's house.
That's what I thought, too. Realtors sell the properties, they don't own them. The agent gave bad information.
Oooh. Now this is a great idea. Granted he'd be trespassing and still stealing...but to a lesser degree LOL...but he could learn something and get free plants. I don't know about fruit trees, but propagating roses is easy.
It just doesn't come into my mind to trespass or steal. But you're right, if they did it without permission and the plants are entirely located on that property.
And it's a good and happy thing that propagating roses is so easy. My favorites are miniature roses but they do best in cooler temperatures than we have here.
I'm ok with the idea of taking a cutting--except that you would be trespassing, which, as others have pointed out, is against the law.
Not ok with the idea of digging up trees, bushes, or any other sort of plant unless the building is scheduled for demolition. And even then, you need to get permission from the owner, not the realtor. Stripping the landscaping turns an empty house into an eyesore and hurts the entire neighborhood. Plus, it's just wrong.
The same applies to old cemeteries. Some people like to take cuttings from cemetery roses. If you take a very discreet cutting that doesn't change the appearance of the plant, then I guess I'm ok with the idea (although the family members who planted it might not feel the same way).
But..... going into a cemetery and digging up a rose bush at someone's gravesite would be despicable.
FWIW it's easy to propagate fruit trees. Family members in New York gave us a cutting from a fig tree. That cutting endured all sorts of abuse on the trip home, but grew into a huge tree anyway. We have since taken dozens of cuttings from it and given them to neighbors. Now our whole neighborhood has fig trees.
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It just doesn't come into my mind to trespass or steal. But you're right, if they did it without permission and the plants are entirely located on that property. 
My favorites are miniature roses but they do best in cooler temperatures than we have here.
