ST. LOUIS — An "alarming" amount of plant theft is happening from Tower Grove Park's display beds, park officials said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
The park and its volunteers plant around 17,000 tulips, 3,600 annuals and 350 tropicals in their display beds yearly, the post said. Nearly 200 of those plants are stolen from the park each year, resulting in thousands of dollars of park money lost.
Pictures shared by the park show seemingly incomplete display beds, with the plant displays now featuring empty holes where plants used to be.
"It costs about $11,000 per year for these plants alone," the park's Facebook post said. "This figure doesn’t include the labor, soil, pots, fertilizer, time, etc. that are accumulated over the plant’s life."
The park's horticulture team and volunteers reportedly spend months preparing the plants in the on-site greenhouse.
There are opportunities for park volunteers to get free plants. More information on the free plant opportunities can be found on the park's website here.
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