Six valuable plants have been stolen from the Clement Gray Bowers Rhododendron Collection at Cornell, and Cornell Plantations officials are hoping for their return.

Two of the rhododendrons are irreplaceable, according to Plantations Curator Mary Hirshfeld, because they are hybrids that were propagated from an original parent plant. One of the three medium-sized rhododendrons, which were gifts to the university, is a memorial plant in honor of Christopher Allan Holmberg. Three other stolen rhododendrons were dwarf varieties that took 11 years to reach their height of less than 24 inches, Hirshfeld said. The total value of the plants is estimated at $800-$1,200.

The Bowers Collection is located at Comstock Knoll, between Plantations Headquarters and Beebe Lake. The rhododendron theft follows the loss of about two dozen yucca plants from Cornell Plantations grounds on Judd Falls Road and a bronze plaque from the Mary Rockwell Garden on Tower Road.

Plantations officials ask anyone with information about the missing plants or the plaque to call Cornell Police at (607) 255-1111.