PLANT theft may not be a prevalent crime in Port Stephens but tell that to the community groups and residents who have felt the sting of hard work being literally pulled up this year.
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Salt Ash couple Graham Kirk and Jennine Holland are the latest in a line of known cases where the trees they had planted throughout the year have been stolen.
The couple were shocked and angry when about 14 of the 48 Murraya bushes they planted in the front of their Lemon Tree Passage Road home were stolen.
They have offered a $500 reward for information that leads to a conviction.
"Disappointed is not a strong enough word to say how gutted we are about this," Mr Kirk said.
The couple moved to the Tilligerry Peninsula from Sydney three years ago.
Planting the hedge was a council requirement
They planted the flowery trees - which were between 300 and 500 millimetres tall - across the front of their property.
Between November 6 and 9 about 12 were stolen, with two more taken two weeks later.
It comes after Medowie Tidy Towns planted natives at the Campvale roundabout intersecting Medowie and Richardson roads earlier in the year.
"We bought 100 plants from the Ngioka centre in Nelson Bay and over a period of time we lost a large number of the plants," councillor Geoff Dingle, a member of Medowie Tidy Towns, said.
"Clearly these people are taking them and potting them.
"This wasn't vandals; they weren't pulled out and thrown in the bushes nearby."
The Christmas Bush Garden Club felt a similar sting early in November.
It was not long after members had planted kangaroo paw natives along Nelson Bay Road before they were stolen.
Port Stephens Local Area Command crime manager Detective Inspector George Radmore said plant theft was covered in the Crimes Act and could lead to a jail sentence of up to five years.
Anyone with information about the Murraya trees is asked to phone Raymond Terrace Police Station and quote E55986914.