By Nancy Friedman

On October 16, 2025, fifty-one rose bushes at the Morcom Rose Garden were stolen or uprooted and left to die. The City has been alerted to this theft.

Rose bushes have been stolen in the past, but these were ripped out without digging the roots to preserve them. (Apparently the thieves tried to dig out one bush, but were unsuccessful. Another 50 bushes were destroyed or taken). Rosarian Royal Krieger and several volunteers did their best to replant the bushes that remained in the garden, but given the breakage, few, if any, of those will survive.  

Volunteers and city staff are very discouraged because of the many years of hard work put into collecting, grafting, establishing, and labeling the plants that were destroyed that night, leaving empty holes in the ground.

The public often thanks us for our efforts to maintain the Morcom Rose Garden as the public treasure it is, so we hope others will help deter future thefts.  If you observe anyone stealing public property (these plants belong to us all, not the thieves just out for profit), please call 911.  If you have any information about the thefts, please send a message to friendsofoaklandrose@gmail.com.

To learn more about the Rose Garden, its history, and opportunities to volunteer, check out this Splashpad News article from June, 2025.

Writing on behalf of the Friends of the Morcom Rose Garden, Nancy Friedman is a 17-year garden volunteer, known as a “Dedicated Deadheader.”