Bonsai Theft

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Beware bonsai theft

Don't even think about touching these bonsai. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios

Bonsai bandits have hit several U.S. cities lately, but the Des Moines Botanical Gardens keeps its precious collection behind barbed wire and monitored by cameras, Axios Des Moines co-author Jason Clayworth writes. ? Bonsai is the art of cultivating miniature trees in containers, with origins going back thousands of years to ancient China. The plants serve as a living record of international tradition and local heritage. ? Des Moines added its security measures after historic heists over 20 years ago — well before the recent rash of bonsai thefts in New Orleans and Minnesota. During a 2004 theft, investigators believe someone scaled a roof and dropped into the garden's courtyard. The stolen plants weren't recovered. In 1997, two men recovered a stolen tree and said they bought it at a local tavern for $300, according to local newspaper reports at the time.