Is It OK to Take Plant Cuttings From Public Parks and Gardens? A Lawyer Explains so You Won’t End Up in Trouble

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been tempted to take a plant cutting from a state park or city garden. I see lots of hands, including my own, but don’t worry! Being tempted is not illegal. But moving to the act … that’s a more complicated question.

Most gardeners have learned the various types of propagation you can use for plants, including taking snippets from existing plants to root at home. Many of these plant cuttings root easily and, before you know it, you are the proud owner of a new, stand-alone plant.

While taking cuttings from public land is tempting, is it legal? Sometimes yes, often no, and when it’s no, it can land you in jail for theft or vandalism. The rules are complicated.

Taking Cuttings

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve rooted a plant cutting, I could build myself a greenhouse. Most of us budget-conscious gardeners learn early that if you have one hydrangea shrub, you can have many more by snipping off a stem with a bud on it and letting it root in a glass of water. I am always rooting snippets from the hanging plants in my house, like pothos and philodendron. A cute propagation station like these from Magnolia and IKEA are as pretty as they are functional.

I keep some of my new plants, but often gift them to neighbors, friends, or people on the local neighborhood website who are seeking houseplants. I mean with the three dozen houseplants that share my San Francisco apartment, there really is not room for more. As a friend told me once, seeing the crowded plant shelves: if one plant sneezed, they would all fall off.

Plants on Public Lands

Of course, it is different to deliberately take a cutting from my own plant or a friend’s plant (with permission of course), but most of us would not take a cutting in a plant store or snip off a branch from a stranger’s rose bush. Sometimes, walking the streets of San Francisco, I see a fabulous plant and ask the owner whether I might get in line for a cutting if they ever trim it back. Usually the response is generous, sometimes it’s not. But I wouldn’t dream of stealing a plant cutting and I’m sure that’s the case for most of us.

Plants on public lands are a bit more tempting, since each of us is part of the public. We might tell ourselves that nobody will miss the six inches of elderberry I snip to root for my own garden. And when it comes to common species with abundant populations, like elderberries, probably nobody would mind. But many plants are endangered in the United States and many more around the world, so there are both ethical and legal reasons to keep your hands off plants in public spaces.

Taking Cuttings from Private Private Property Is Illegal

Let me just put the general rule out there: it is illegal to take any plant or part of a plant on property that does not belong to you without permission from the owner. The penalties vary depending on location, but they can include criminal charge of theft and/or trespassing.

Many states and some cities have more specific laws defining this type of behavior as criminal. To be safe, and be a good citizen/neighbor, always ask. Gardeners tend to be a friendly bunch as you are as likely to get a yes as a no. Alternatively, wait until a neighbor does a trimming and discards a box of plant detritus. That’s how I got most of the succulents in my back yard - from succulent trimmings left outside for garbage pickup.

Taking Cuttings from Public Land - It Depends

Some plants are endangered. In this country, over 800 plants make the federal list of threatened or endangered species. Specific laws protect these species and you cannot cut or harm them without violating the law. This can lead to criminal charges and fines up to $50,000, as well as civil penalties of some $25,000 per violation. It’s also an ethical obligation as a citizen of the planet since supporting these plants is necessary to maintain biodiversity in their habitats.

What about other plants? The rules are different for different types of property, so if you aren’t sure, just don’t take anything.

• Under Federal Regulations, possessing, taking, injuring or disturbing plants in a National Park Service site is illegal.
• In the state of California, taking plants from state parks is illegal. It is specifically prohibited to pick, dig up, cut, mutilate, destroy, injure, disturb, move, molest, burn, or carry away any tree or plant in any state parks without permission.
• Digging up wild plants in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Colorado, can also be charged criminally as a misdemeanor and result in financial penalties.
• For lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, it is permissible to take a small amount of plants, seeds, flowers and berries for personal use if the plant is common and not an endangered species. It is still a good idea to speak with a ranger or volunteer before taking anything.

In short, think about taking cuttings all you like, but don’t do it without permission. Asking permission costs nothing and it can keep you out of legal trouble.

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