Rare pink orchid cactus plant stolen from Minnesota garden center

STACY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Staff at a garden center in Stacy, Minnesota are calling for the return of a rare flower stolen from the greenhouse during a break-in.

The incident happened Sunday overnight into Monday at Wayne's Greenhouses and Garden Center, according to Wayne Hasklach, the store's owner. Approximately $300 worth of merchandise was stolen from his greenhouse and garden center, including a pink orchid cactus plant.

The flower held specific importance to greenhouse because it was the "mother plant" used to breed baby plants for the following year.

“The one that was stolen had 200 blooms on it, it was phenomenal,” said Wayne Hasklach. “We’d take 150-200 cuttings off of that to generate some numbers.”

The spectacular, eye-catching cactus takes months to grow to a size for potting and years to get as large as the stolen orchid, which weighed close to 70 pounds.

Hasklach remains grounded and humbled by the community support he’s received on social media and at his doors.

“We’ve had people come in offer us money, we’ve had greenhouses in Iowa offer us cuttings, we’ve had people offer us their orchid cactuses from their grandmas that they’ve had a long time and it goes on and on and on,” said Hasklach. “Unbelievable.”

If anyone has information about the theft, they're asked to contact the Chisago County Sheriff's Office at (651)257-4100.