Cutting Ethics?

Newbie here so please forgive my ignorance. I have a question regarding ethics and cutting? This year I want to try doing some cuttings. In the past I have just thrown away all the plants that were not hardy. Joined DG and am inspired to try. Here are my questions?

1) Is it okay to ask the SIL to raid her yard for cuttings? She'll just let them die.

2) Is it okay to take cutting from our local public areas or parks. I'm not greedy I just want a few. and I would never destroy anything.

3) Is it okay to ask a business for some cutting? There is an office building downtown with some large pots out front. Again, I'm not greedy, and would never destroy anything.

Good question,
To me it comes down to matter of respect. If someone asked for a cutting I would be happy to give and more. But if someone took cuttings without asking, I would feel as though I'd been robbed. Taking something that is not yours without asking is stealing...no way around it.

It never ever hurts to ask, you might want to be careful how you phrase it to your SIL...lol

Here's my ethics questions: I live near the Tyler Rose Gardens, how about dumpster diving for cutting. lol

Okay! I know your looking. Do you not have an opinion? This is not a trick question. I really, really wanted your honest opinion.

For the most part, I believe taking cuttings without asking is wrong -- as cocoa_lulu said, it's theft.

OTOH, I am not without sin.

I'm there with ShelfLife. Yes, it's wrong, but I've done it once or twice. The devil made me do it :).

Not that I'm trying to change anyone's mind, but who is there to ask (the tax payers). I get the feeling no one has a problem with asking anyone for cuttings? How much is to much when asking. And what about Cocoa and the dumpster?

Wow, did my post ever sound bossy, I’m certainly not one to cast stones. I’ve been in possession of a “hot” dog for nine years. A neighbor had him on a short chain without food and water for days on end. Of course if this get out and I have to go to court..... I’m sure the dog will testify I’m his rightful owner:)

Please ask for permission if at all possible. Aside from all the moral arguments, there are practical reasons. Such as, what if you forgot/didn't write down the details of the plant you took the cutting from and need to ask someone? What if the first cutting doesn't make it and you would like to try again?

Public parks have people who work in them and contact numbers (check the phonebook) -- and many have rules about NOT doing ANYTHING to their plants (check their web site if they have one).

As to "public areas" -- not sure what you're referencing, most everything is owned by "somebody." ;)

And believe it or not, dumpster diving is illegal in some parts of the US -- how rigorously the law is enforced is likely be very localized and somewhat dependent on the owner of the dumpster.

I too would not take a cutting unless I asked. I know many times when someone is asked they are more than happy to oblidge...in some cases you might make a new friend.
Imagine not only you , but 20-30 others wanting cutings of a particular plant from a public place.!
When visiting the Petrified Forest as a child I asked my Dad why I couldn't take home a pretty rock.. he said well if everyone did the same thing there would be no more pretty rocks to look at for anyone. I have always remembered that when I am in a public place or park.

The best I ever heard along this line was a gardener who stole a cutting and always regretted meeting and chatting with another gardener. A missed chance to learn and perhaps acquire another unusual plant. Pursue your requests by asking to contact the 'gardener', compliment them on the plants, ask what they are, where they acquired them, how easy they would be to propagate. You might be surprised at the outcome. If they prune they may offer you the cuttings or more....

Yes Shellabella, your DD was right! If we all wanted just one cutting... the plants would be bare!

I think if you approach someone with, oh, what a gorgeous plant -- next time you prune, could I have a cutting -- you'd probably get one right then and there. As for parks, etc., hands off. If and when you see them pruning, it most likely wouldn't be a problem. I'd think businesses would call the cops if they saw you cutting their shrubs.

Bottom line, if it belongs to someone else and you take it, it's stealing. And you'll wind up not enjoying the plant nearly as much.

I think just asking is the best approach. I had a hard time with that at first, but after "asking" a few times for seeds or cuttings...I learned that most people are glad to share (as most of us here are) and enjoyed the chatting that came with it AND I acquired information about the plant and/or other things to boot!

Althoughhhhh.....lol....one time I had put a plant in my basket that I thought was on clearance. Got to the counter with it and realized it was not on clearance, so I took it out. Well, a small part of it fell off and remained in my basket, and when I was getting the rest of my stuff out, I saw it and thought "oh, I can PLANT that"....lol! And I did, and it is now a very pretty Wandering Jew hanging in my window. Now, I justified it in my head as "oh, they would have just swept it up and thrown it out......" , but do you know I felt guilty about taking that??? Crazy I know! So, I know for myself and can only speak for myself....I have to be honest and ask, or I would sit in my house ridden with "Plant Theft Guilt" ! =)

But you know, that was a great question and is interesting to read all the responses!

Rhonda

**BTW...I definately think its okay to ask the SIL...that's DEFINATELY fair game if you're related!

Actually, if it's from an IL it's OK to steal! ;b

I ask my inlaws for plant cuttings all the time and they are always very pleased to give them to me. ;) I also share mine with them.
Lin

With few exceptions, gardeners do have a sharing spirit!

My coworker the next cube over had a lovely Swedish Ivy that I was looking at. I told her that if she ever pruned it I'd love to have a cutting. She nipped me off one right then and there.

I have to say I'm with the consensus. Always ask. Maybe they have a service that regularly prunes them, and they can save some for you. Or maybe they know where else you can find that particular plant.

And I always figure that karma gets you in the end.

Very true about Karma, white.....I believe in that also. Both ways....good and bad!

So do you believe in not saying thank you when given a plant or 'start' of something? Many acquaintences say not to or it will jinx your luck with that plant.

You know, podster....a friend of my grandmothers gave me some hen and chicks.....when I said "thank you" she immediately stopped me and said "you dont say thank you for plants, my mama always told me that......it will jinx the plant". My grandmother agreed with her and said her mother had told her the same thing. Now, those hens and chicks died....lol....but I"ve said "thank you" for other plants and they did okay. I just learned not to say it to this particular lady, and just give her a big hug each time I see her and tell her how much I appreciate her! I just love hearing their "wives tales" about plants and gardening, but believe me...in all that is some GREAT information! It's funny, tho....how those things are passed along! I wonder if that particular saying is just one of those "southern thangs"...or what??

No, that's just superstition. Some so-called superstitions have a basis in something real. Some are just stupid. Like "sing before breakfast, you'll cry before night." That one was made up by some really grouchy mother who liked it quiet in the mornings. And the number of pine needles in the house after Twelfth Night will be the number of troubles you have during the year. A clean freak made that one up.

But planting when the moon is waxing, that sort of thing, I think has some basis. And karma is VERY garden-oriented. You DO reap what you sow.

I think it is a 'southern thang' as I never heard it any where else we lived. I think it is precious and perhaps a good excuse when a plant dies for me. I can't help it though after being raised to say thank you. : )) pod

Very true, pod....that is so ingrained in me...those manners!!

Brigid, I"ve never heard of the ones you just listed. Thats actually kind of funny about the needles in the house....if that were true, I would have bad luck for years according to the ones I pull out of the carpet months after the tree is gone!

It is not just a "southern Thing". Several cultures have rules about not praising crops, fruiting trees, and new babies, because it is believed that evil spirits /evil eye / etc. will befall the thing that is praised. The technical term is "sympathetic magic", but those who believe in it are very serious indeed.

Jay...you have to say "thang".....not "thing"!! ;-)
But yes, I understand what you mean, and actually I love learning about beliefs like that, and the support behind it. It's amazing at the different cultures we have in this world .

Hey ya'll, I'm from the south and here is another saying for you. If someone gives you a knife as a gift you have to pay them at least a nickel so that you avoid cutting off the friendship. In other words, they are not giving you a knife they are selling you one, thus not cutting the friendship. Just food for thought from a cajun girl. When receiving a plant, instead of saying thanks, I ask if they would like a starter from one of my plants. This way everyone is happy and the plants live on.

Okay, I ask the SIL if I could have a cutting. I got no answer; she laughed, and acted like I was crazy. Here is one of her pots; she has no plans of being it in or taking cutting herself. Just going to throw it out, and she thinks I'm crazy? I'm going to ask one more time.

Wow......such pretty pots! What a waste if she doesnt take care of them. You owe it to the plants, ghia! Calmly walk over there with your damp paper towel and baggie....and just TAKE 'em....lol!

In this rare case after the response you got I agree with luv2dig!

Yep this is one time I would 'jus take em' and run. Your SIL sounds like she doesn't know much about plants? Evidentally her philosophy is to throw them out when cold weather comes and buy new in spring. What a waste!

I believe you will have full pardon from all the gardening spirits in this case.

The practice of not saying"Thank You" for flowers is not just a southern 'thing'.I was raised in a small town in southern Indiana, and it was very much the rule there in the 60's. It was told to me as a child that we did not own the birds of the air, the clouds, the sunshine , the rain, fish in the ocean , or plants and their flowers. God alone was in charge of them and we were only temporary care takers.To say "Thank you" was to presume ownership of something that was not our's to own. I think it came from my Native American ancesters and just sorta carried on from generation to generation. I can not let a trade go by without a Thank you, but I think of this each time I type one. Lou

i had never heard that about plants and I always say thank you. I hope that now that I know my plants won't die.

As for knives I had always heard to pay the person a penny. Maybe knives are cheaper here.

I would feel as if I was stealing if I didn't ask and I would never take cuttings from a public park.

Here is a different question. How about seeds? If I take them without asking is it stealing? I have taken seeds from the roadside ditches, but never from someones yard.

dispatcher, I can buy your explanation for not saying thank you. See, when you get back far enough to find out why it started to begin with, it can make real sense.

This is going to be a totally different perspective from those expressed above and I mean no harm but would like everyone to please consider the request from the "other side". I am one of the people who volunteers in state and county parks. Our funds are dwindling to the extent that full time staff positions are being cut on a regular basis and we are finding we are increasingly more dependant upon volunteers. Volunteers are repeatedly contributing plant material from their own stashes from home because state nurseries are being shut down. Much of our budget to purchase plants has been cut and funding from private individuals is down. Fundraisers do well by us but the growing costs of controlling invasive species has taken a tremendous toll and we sincerely don't have the resources to purchase plants as we did in subsequent years. We have virtually no money for plant diagnostics and are often on a wing and a prayer when we have to try to save a plant.

All too frequently I have seen the plant where cuttings were "appropriated". Please know that cuttings often need to be taken at the right time of year in order to root and there are many other variables to consider that can thwart the rooting a cutting. The big deal regarding the taking of a cutting is that it can leave the plant open to pathogens. I wish I could say that we haven't lost a plant that someone took cuttings from but we have. That's one less plant we have to share with those who visit our parks and preserves. Similar deal with seed. If one harvests from the plant, it is not capable of perpetuating itself and it is often our intent when planting a plant that it establish itself which would idealy include reproducing itself. I also wish I could say that I have not found holes in the ground where people had taken entire plants... but I have.

Taking cuttings or seed or whole plants without permission is just not right. There are contact phone numbers for almost every park or preserve. Sometimes, the volunteers will share from their personal plants at home if they sense a person is sincere but more often than not, we share our source so that those interested can purchase the plant or the seed they are interested in themselves.

I believe it is always ok to ask. Some plants exist exclusively for the purpose of being able to be used for educational purposes as well as to share with the public. Many volunteers specifically grow plants to share with those who ask. We share when ever possible.

That being said, I approve of dumpster diving. Anything out on the curb in my State is fair game save recyclables. I approve of sharing plants and seed and am honored if someone is interested in anything I grow and will bend over backwards to get them an entire plant or seed or a cutting or division if asked. I don't look for anything in exchange and a simple thank you is sufficient but not necessary.

Well said ~ just because it is a public place and we pay taxes doesn't mean we can/ should help ourselves.

In Chicago, when I was living there, dumpster diving was a time-honored tradition. It used to be that leases expired on April 1 and October 1, if I remember correctly. Often when people moved, they wouldn't want to take everything. So they'd just put it out in the alley. Often it would be gone the next day, no questions asked. You'd be amazed at what people threw away. Perfectly good stuff, just not exactly new.

We put things out on the curb for people to take and they are almost always gone within hours. I have gotten some cool stuff that way myself. It is a great way to recycle items that are still usable, but you don't want them.