Green houses are filled with growing orchids, most of which are exported.

Thieves have made off with $500 worth of orchids from a Taranaki honesty shop and are now selling them off as a school fundraiser, the grower has claimed.

The flowers were stolen from Slater's Orchids, on Ninia Rd in Bell Block, over the weekend, with some being taken on Saturday and the rest on Sunday.

"They took every single bunch," said Chris Bricknall, whose parents, Don and Ailsa Slater, own the nursery.

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF Continual thefts will be the death of roadside shops, Bricknall says.

Bricknall said the cameras in the shop were not working correctly over the weekend. The theft has been reported to the police, she said, and people had been giving her information.

"I've had a few comments describing the same people."

She said she believed the orchids were being sold around town - in Moturoa and Fitzroy - in $5 bunches as a school fundraiser.

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF Chris Bricknall says those who abuse honesty boxes ruin it for all the other customers.

READ MORE:

* Virginia Winder: A father, a daughter and an orchid bloom

* Taranaki Garden Spectacular nourishes body and soul

* Dishonesty does not spell end for honesty boxes

"We came here lunch time on Saturday and could tell the money in the box didn't equate to what had gone, which sometimes happens," Bricknall said.

"They'd obviously done it in the morning and we didn't think they'd be back."

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF Bricknall says they will reconsider how they operate the shop after losing $500 worth of flowers.

After restocking the shop for Sunday, they again came back to find all of their flowers gone.

"They came back for a second go on Sunday."

She said $500 was a lot of money for a small business to lose, and they would have to rethink their approach.

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF 9000 boxes of orchids are exported each year.

They had lost money before through the honesty box system - "you will obviously get that and we understand that" - but never to this extent, she said.

"Like any small business it's hard to make ends meet sometimes. We can't afford to be having this happen.

"I was really shocked, and pretty disappointed really, and upset for our customers - the majority of our customers are loyal, regular customers.

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF Bricknall says dishonesty may soon force an end to roadside shops.

"It will be the death of roadside shops if they're not careful.

"We're just trying to keep the tradition of the honesty box going.

"Anything we can't export we put into our shop here."

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF There are about 26,000 plants divided into 60 varieties.

Slaters' Orchids have about 26,000 plants in four main colours - pink, yellow, green and white - and 60 different varieties, and export about 9000 boxes a year.

They will be increasing security "10-fold" and having to reconsider leaving the shop open on weekends, she said.

"We're not going to let them beat us."

Police have confirmed the theft had been reported.