oh the spray paint part it awful. they should chip it/shred it if they want to make sure no one else can have it. And giveaway/sell the plastic pot it came in.

re: choice of going to shop someplace besides the big boxes: i saw george carlin on pbs last night, and he made the point that for a country where we supposedly have "free choice," we really don't. we only have 2 political parties, pepsi or coke, paper or plastic, and several more along this line, all relating to the fact that america is run by the dollar, i.e. huge corporations.

what's an endcap?

would shredding the plants too expensive instead of painting them orange? (not a leading question)

an end cap is the end display area at Lowes and Home Depot's where they place items in obvious visibility for quicker sale.Sorry,didn't mean to leave you hanging on that terminology. I'd think that just putting them in the compactor of the store and crushing would have been better and less time consumming than painting them orange. But they'd have to attend to the plants and crush them immediately and as hectic as it gets in these stores lately with the season cranking up also means they might not have time to do even that until later. I guess they figure this way they'll not get plant scroungers or such if they just paint them orange. I don't work for Home Depot,but I'd think that the previous response was why they have to do this.
madgardener_ETN

That was a great post Ronnn and I agree completely with you. Interesting bit about the feed store.

ah, thank you madgardener!

I agree Ronn, you point out things that people not into the marketing end of businesses don't think about (me included).

you are all correct to be upset about the large chain practicies. they have clauses built into their contract with their suppliers that any unsold plants or ones that die are credited back to the store, so they have no incentive to take care of them properly. complaining to corporate is like ------ in the ocean. stop buying and they may get the message.

I quit a big box store because I couldn't stand the way they treated the plants. Many times, we had dead plants sitting there, and they wouldn't let us throw them out, because they were trying to keep their "numbers" up for the week. I called their garden department "Cram 'em , kill 'em and toss 'em", which was just what it was. The plants were crammed all together and got no air circulation, and overwatered or underwatered, and then just tossed out, because the grower gave them credit for them if they were thrown out. They weren't allowed to mark plants down because they made more money by having them replaced for free.

I work at a real garden center now, and it's so much better.

Why would you buy plants from anyone but a grower? You want an interesting selection, well-grown stock, earth-friendly growing practises, and sometimes some information or help to make your selection. So why buy from anyone but a grower? At a box store, plants are just another commodity. Like shoes, tires, or insecticide.

I am always really reluctant to buy plants from most greenhouses because i feel that i am getting a plant contaminated by fertilizers and pesticides. I still think that trading (especially with friends and family, because I know what has been used on the plants) and growing from seed (organic)is the best bet

BTW- check my list cause if there is anything that you want its all organic- a very good thing to know

The fact is that a lot of these "big box stores" have an agreement with the plant suppliers that the dead, unsold, damaged, etc. plants are not paid for. The plant suppliers agree to this because who can get by without selling to the "big box stores? Some of the BIG nurseries in our area, who supply some of the "big box stores", have their own employees who take care of the plants in these stores---NOT Walley -World though! We who love plants [and see that they are suffering!!!] forget that it is just a business and a way to draw in customers and most retailers would rather not have the plants at all and their attitude is that they don't care if they all croak! Best idea is to find out when the plant deliveries are made and go that day-- if there are no other options for plants in your area. Mary

back to the original orange paint issue - does that kill the plant or, with patience, would it grow and you could eventually cut off the orange part? would be ok if they were perennials.

danaoh, It would depend on how much paint was sprayed. I have accidentally sprayed plants adn they did fine.

My problem with how they take care of their plants is that someone who is just starting out will most likely fail with the stressed out plants they sell. If they want to keep trying they will have to keep buying plants.

I sometimes think the big stores know that and count on it to increase thier sales.

Carey

O, Dear Friends if you only knew..I worked at Lowe's Garden Center. I have a degree in Floral Design and am a Master Gardener, not that that makes me special, I just wanted you to know that I truly have a love of plants. After eight months, I left. The waste....Lowe's has none of its money in the plants. Plant vendors bring them in from various nurseries, when the plants sell the nurseries give Lowes a profit. I was the only one that cared if they were unloaded and placed in the correct light. I have seen them haul thousands of dollars of plants to a crusher so that no one could come at night and get them. That is why at Lowes or WalMart or Home Depot ...the plants are not watered or cared for....my manager said, Lowes calls it the 100 days of Hell. Try to make as much on plants as you can in the high season. Being plant lovers, you can not imagine how upset I would be and sad for the plants. I think you are wasting your time writing. It is all about the money! Big Corporate America!

Good day, evergreen. I was amused that this thread is STILL going and being responded to. (not that I'm surprised, really) I worked at Lowes, in the garden center outside for almost two years, got disgusted with the policies of not enough people at the peak times of the season and did a request for consideration (asked for a transfer to another department) The store manager who was always shocked and sometimes ticked off was constantly telling me that on days I was off, MY customers would come into the store, inquire about "the madgardener who works in the nursery" or that very helpful woman in the neat hat" When she'd inform them I was off for a couple of days, a LOT of them would thank her, and turn around and go back out! (I had revealed early on how to open the automatic doors from the inside to customers who sometimes wanted to leave and the doors don't open from the inside of the entrances) I too am a Master Gardener, and continuing to educate myself about horticulture. I tried not to let corporate practices get in my way, I was more distressed as I went along and worked and saw more and more wastefulness. I became a cashier, was put into the lumber department on the cash register near Commercial Sales where my gardening customers STILL found me and BEGGED me to come back to the garden center. After over two years with Lowes, sheer crap became the reason I walked out after putting in my two weeks notice. They were forcing the cashiers and other employee's to stay well over hours to do what the shifts were supposed to be doing. Top stocking, down stocking, fronting, etc. It had nothing to do with the WORK. I'm not allergic to work, I had begged for more hours, but when my husband who is a truck driver came home, I was his only way home from the truckstop as we only had the one vehicle. It was because they were LOCKING THE DOORS. And I called the local fire marshal and he informed me that sadly as long as the fire exit doors were operable, they could LOCK US IN if they wanted to. Tennessee is a right to work state. One of the last six. They could fire us if we refused to be locked in.

Rather than showing my hind end and leaving thru the fire exit and setting off the alarm (my husband had also come home after being gone for over two weeks and had to pick him up) and knowing that corporate had RULES that said IF YOUR HOURS WERE POSTED, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO REMAIN unless you WANTED TO. I brought this up with the smart aleck manager who insisted that I'd stay or get fired. I told her my husband and family were more important than being locked in against my will, that this was still America and she couldn't stop me. I took lunch after waiting on the 14 customers that were backed up in my line because there weren't enough people to work (as usual) and ignored her demanding that I take my break, because MY customers come first. Period. And always have. And gathered my stuff, cleaned out my locker, picked up my plant gift from another cashier who smelled what I was about to do, and walked out. They STILL ask me to return. And when I run into those customers in various places, grocery stores and even a plant nursery in KNOXVILLE which is 43 miles away, they still ask if I'm in another department or in the case of the nursery, if I'm working THERE (with a hopeful grin on their faces).

Just to let you know, around here in Eastern Tennessee, they call it the "100 days of madness". But hell is appropriate, and since the regional manager has come in, it's insane at my local store where I worked and shopped. I was even asked to work for the plant vendor who knew my experience and care for the customers and plants, and they start out two dollars and fifty cents MORE an hour than LOWes!!! But knowing that it would be the same with exception that I worked for the vendor and not Lowes, so wasn't subject to their bossiness, I declined. She still wants me..........I wrote and called corporate, they don't give a damn. It's all about profit or loss compensation. And it's not just Lowes or Depot or Walmart. It's the general attitudes of this whole system now. Because we've slipped into a service industrial country. and too disposable. Which is why I loved this forum because I am frugal and conserve and organic to a logical point, and compassionate. I do what I can to take care of my little corner of the earth and that's the best I can do.
Wow, two years later after I originally posted it! amazing!

maddie

I bought some plnts at Morristown Lowes that were in poor shape and marked down to $1.00. I got about 15 and when I got home I found half of them they had charged me full price for. I went back and took the plants with me and they were very rude to me Acted like I was a criminal. I told them to give my money back. I don't trade in Morristwn tn any more since it became the speed trap of east Tennessee
sol

My thought on this is the impression it gives the customer.Most of these big box stores pride themselves on having *experts in every field of their store*.If I were a vendor and my label was on the plant I wouldnt be thrilled either.Dont big box stores get credits for items that dont sell ?

i am on an excrutiatingly small budget. i realize that shopping at the big-box stores can save $$$, but i just don't buy plants from any of them. i'd rather go without. whenever i do shop at the small, locally owned nursery i feel i get much better service and great advice, too. they know me by name and, although their prices don't match the big-boxers', they do have 2-for-1 end-of-season sales. knowing my circumstance, they sometimes give me stuff they don't want, plus seeds and cuttings. they know that i belong to a gardening club and talk them up, so they benefit by getting more customers. everybody's happy! :D

pat
durham NC

I know this is old, but it got me worked up. I have been guilty of going to Lowes, actually very recently. I do agree though, that most of the big corporations don't give a hoot about the products they are selling. I own a small retail store, and I can't compete with some of the bigger retailers. If more people would support the smaller guys, it would speak volumes. You will not get the customer service, or the knowledge of a given item from them, that you get from a smaller business. I do tend to go to the garden centers more often, and try to get some deals here and there, but I can relate, because I'm in the same boat they're in. I know that people have to watch their budgets, but sometimes. it's more of the principle of it, and most of the smaller guys actually care about the person they're helping. I'd rather support that, then the other.

Geez, I read about a dozen posts before I realized the age of the thread. So I skipped a bunch and ended up reading another post of madgardener from Aug 06.

A couple of things:

I wonder what has changed (if anything) in the practices of the box stores in regards to placement of plants?

I wonder if the corporate gurus have noticed sales slumps or been alerted to the fact that some plants are dying due to placement factors?

Myself, I think it is like the gobs of junk placed near registers. Not on racks where it doesn't get in your way. In particular, Super America always had so much of this $junk that if you got gas and wanted to pick up a loaf of bread and milk, you had no place to set these items while you got out your money, debit card, or checkbook. This got so bad that after telling managers about this and getting the response "We make a lot of $ off those sales", that I finally said, "Good then, although it will be more inconvienient for me, I will stop shopping in your store. Gas only from now on. And I did quit shopping at SA. I told Holiday managers that I appreciated their open counters and no longer buy gas at SA. Small victory. But a victory.

So maybe corporate knows that some plants will die but more will be sold if they are placed out in the open. The more expensive the plant, the more exposure (sight) it should have. Thus, more will be sold, less will die. True, some will suffer and end up on a 1/2price skid at the end of the aisle.

Profit drives motive. If I plant seeds in a row, I have to thin (kill) some plants so that the surviving ones (by my choice) will live and provide me with a harvestable product. If they receive 100 plants and because of their location, sell only 25, is this good for the remaining 75 plants that will now die? But placed in a nice sunny location to attract the impulse buyer (what gardener is not an impulse buyer at times?) will they sell 50? 75?

I don't know but my instinct guess is that like the candy on the counter, more will be sold, thus more plants will find good loving homes?

"HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY IN THE WINDOW? THE ONE WITH THE WAGGELY TAIL?" the song went.

On a last note, I am old enough to remember when the neighborhood grocery store (you can still see them on corners, converted to housing) did not sell gasoline or petroleum products. They charged more than the major retailers but you knew that Mom and Pop and their kids worked hard, long hours to make it work.

Then Lil'General bought a lot on the corner across from good ole Mom and Pop, reduced their prices below what M & P could afford to offer, and drove M & P out of business or into early retirement. Then, little by little the prices rose higher than M & P ever charged. Profits rose and this chain was bought out by a bigger chain and forced out more and more M & P businesses. In the corner grocery business, gasoline pumps were added and soon small family owned auto stores faced the same demise.

Then came the giant retailers and we all know how that changed things in more areas than prices.

I have told my kids that if given a choice, find a businessman who is running his/her own store, get to know them and make that your first choice when you need something. Then if you run into a problem or concern go back and ask about that. You will find that that person will bend over backwards to help/assist you or send you to someone who can help you.

I wish more people would write corporate, or, just go back to purchasing things from the places that are kind, considerate and helpful, and appreciate your business like good ole Mom and Pop did for longer than I remember.

Admittedly I did not finish reading the entire thread as I've gotten lost on the "free flowers" page someone posted and now busy ordering and trying to read this. I did want to post my thoughts and opinions however on what I've read thus far.

I do think it's rather immoral when Walmart, Home Depot or whomever misleads unknowledgeable customers; that is exactly what they're doing by placing shade flowers in the sun! I swear I've often thought of taking a seasonal job at WM just to help people with their gardening questions. I don't know about other Walmarts around the US but the one in our town has the absolute least knowledgeable garden staff I have ever seen in my entire life. They have no idea about the plants, where they go (sun or shade), what they can be used for, placement, height, etc, etc, etc. It is absolutely pitiful when I find myself, a customer, helping people out in the garden department becase IF you can find someone to assist you - they know noting anyway!

If a person wanders into a garden department that knows nothing about the plants and they see columbine on display in full sun they're most likely going to assume (rightly so) that the darn plant should be planted in full sun! I would, wouldn't you? They're the "professionals"! If, on the other hand, I walk into the greenhouse and find plants there I'd also assume those plants require at least a fair amount of shade if not total shade which is seldom the case. I won't argue that is the sales associates job for placement however they really need sales people that know their departments regardless of what department that may be; corporate needs to stop thinking so much about the almight dollar and investigate the consequences of what they're doing. I cannot tell you how many times I've told people where this plant or that plant should be planted, how big they'll get or that particular plant is very invasive because the sales person hasn't a clue.

Most days I spend at least an hour + in my garden and much more on weekends. As with my children and my dogs I care about my garden and it's well being and don't think very highly of people who abuse plants intentionally. Perhaps I'm a tree-hugger but these plants are living things and should be treated with respect and displayed where they are least likely to croak. Will I shop for plants in a place that shows a complete lack of knowledge and an incapacity to care for them? Nope. I'll shop elsewhere. As far as painting half dead plants to keep them out of the hands of someone who could bring them back from near death - that's stupidity and greediness taken to a whole new level. Would a person throw out day old bread or give it to a homeless shelter??? I'd hope they'd send it to a shelter; I think everyone knows where Walmart's bottom line is as well as many other stores. After watching a documentary on WM I've found myself shopping there less and less. I could get out of hand with that topic but won't, I'll stop here.

People are going to buy plants at big-box stores. That will not change.
The big-box stores will hire people who can't tell a root from a blossom to work in their garden centers. That will not change.
However, if local Master Gardeners, garden clubs, etc. would go to their local HD, Lowe's, Wallyworld, and offer to train the big-box garden center staff for free, that might make a difference. It would save a lot of plants, give the local club/MGs good publicity, and help a lot of novice gardeners from making awful, deadly and expensive mistakes.
Corporations look at the bottom line. If you can make a small difference locally, and the local store doesn't lose by your effort, what's the harm?

So I'm a little late on posting on ths thread... anyhow I. Work at lowes as a cashier and requested to be in the garden center because I love plants and have a serious gardening hobby going on. Lol. Y'all should be glad to know our store cares for our plants as they should be and our vendors come and give regular classes to the workers whom take care of the plants on a daily basis. Unfortunately all plants do not get sold 100 percent of the time which means som have to be disposed of for various reasons but we mark them down and all but give them away first. Anyhow I can't speak for the entire chain of stores just the one im employed at. Just thought id share my two cents almost 7 years later.

I worked for Loeb's (Canada) in their plant department. I LOVE plants. Within 3 months I brought our store rating for the floral department from 11th on the list to the top 5 spots in 3 months of my employment. Because I cared about the plants and customers, I went the extra mile to keep all plants watered, cleaned of debris/dead leaves. Talked to customers and had regulars start looking for me for help or just garden talk. I gained more floor space because the plants started selling like crazy. I had the authority to mark down plants to sell them rather than trash them. I did the orders as well - so at least I could see what wasn't moving and had the opportunity to order other plants then that were not normally ordered because previous staff just repeated seasonal orders according to previous years. I worked my butt off. I knew some folk who were having extremely difficult times. If I had plants that were going to be marked down because I needed the space for new orders I'd let them know when I was going to mark down items. It made more sense to sell the plants as healthy as possible than toss them. The customers would come back early on those days and purchase decent plants at huge savings. But in all fairness I could not 'save' plants for them - they had to come early and take their chances. I got much busier as my floor space increased. I had regulars and many favourable comments from both staff, regional managers and customers. I only left the store because of aging family needing home help. I could have just take the job as a job - doing what previous employees did. But I didn't. Originally the store manager was watching how much effort I spent on the plants (I had a secondary job of price checking stocked items) - once the profits started coming in and our ranking in the city increased I was given more opportunities to expand. I also worked hard on the price checking to make sure it was done with care.)

I guess what I'm trying to say - not all box stores are bad. If you have a good store manager and you can make a difference I would not say every box store treats it's floral department badly. But filling out those customer surveys is important - and if enough customers do it you actually help your store improve.

Not only will this kill the plants at the store, but the one that are still alive will be purchased and taken home to die, because the poor treatment at the store has weakened them. I don't buy at stores that don't seem to care about the needs of the plants.

When the Home Depot was built one half mile from the old style hardware store, I was pessamistic. But after eight or ten years, the little store is thriving. I got disgusted the first time at HD, I asked three employees where the hardware cloth was, and was sent all over the store. Finally I had to ask the manager.

The little hardware store sells propane refills eight bucks cheaper than most grocery and drug store chains exchange them. The store provides shade for all their spring plants. And, shockingly, most of the time there is a employee waiting by the door to take you to whatever you need. All the employees except for the cashiers seem to be age 55-75, and know their inventory. There is a window at the back of the store where one can leave a screen to be fixed, or a gasket for a plumbing faucet can be found.

But in another ten years that store may be gone. The local paper has covered several old style hardware stores closing in the last few years.

"When the Home Depot was built one half mile from the old style hardware store, I was pessamistic. But after eight or ten years, the little store is thriving. I got disgusted the first time at HD, I asked three employees where the hardware cloth was, and was sent all over the store. Finally I had to ask the manager.
The little hardware store sells propane refills eight bucks cheaper than most grocery and drug store chains exchange them. The store provides shade for all their spring plants. And, shockingly, most of the time there is a employee waiting by the door to take you to whatever you need. All the employees except for the cashiers seem to be age 55-75, and know their inventory. There is a window at the back of the store where one can leave a screen to be fixed, or a gasket for a plumbing faucet can be found.

But in another ten years that store may be gone. The local paper has covered several old style hardware stores closing in the last few years.

We have an old hardware store like that too. But they just got a remodel and are doing great business.

Our Lowes is very good for plants. All the garden center employees there have been there several years & know what they are doing. And they do mark things WAY down on clearance. HD on the other hand, is horrible. You are lucky if you can find an employee period! Then those in the garden center have no knowledge of the plants or other products.
Our Walmart used to have a fantastic garden center with a gal as the manager who had been there for 15 yrs. & did her own gardening too. Then she retired! Now, not so good. The older employees know what to do having been managed properly by the older gal but the new manager is pathetic!

So not only does it depend on the store manager & his ability to see what is going on in each of his departments, it also depends on the department managers and the other employees!

I have enjoyed reading through most of this issue
Sohme very well written commments and there are many good points.

Was interesting

I am Canadian, but have a home in Florida where I spend half a year

I do go to Lowes, Home Depot etc. in both countries. And here in Canada we have Canadian Tire and Zellers, chain stores across the country that as well have a seasonal garden area.

I learned some from this reading
I like to go to small garden centres, well privately owned places but they as well most often try to market, not the unusual but regular stuff and to display it seasonally
Someone wrote and it is true, that they don't so easily dump or get rid of plants past the peak time as in Poinsettia, or Easter lilies et.c Try to keep them going and sell when they should be taken off the shelves, right away

I think as well some of the garden centres are run better than others. Lowes in Fort Myers is a terrific place to get deals on plants . they mark them down at leat 50% and every week there is lots of stuff to look at
I have found that they have some unusual plants as well, and theya re often the marked down plants as most people don't know what they are.

I love getting deals at the box stores and seems to me there are lots to be had.
For instance, at the Canadian Tire store here in Barrie, where I live, about two weeks ago, they had trays upon trays of annuals and perenials stacked one upon the other, heading for the dumpster

I asked the gals working in the gardens, if I might have some of these trays.

My son has started raising seedlings in his green house and I thought all the trays and small pots , if nothing else would be usefull

Sure, the ladies said

I drove the car around to the back where the stacks of plants where and the ladies came and helped me load up the trunk of the car.
Some annuals, some herbs, some perenials We put in some larger pots and included where clematis, poppies,a japanese tree peonies
Couldn't fit in anything more in the trunk. and I have a large trunk fortunately that day it had been empty.

Oh boy, was I excited about all this free stuff

Took everything to my back yard work station and started going through all the stuff

Some of the annuals and herbs where not much good. But I dumped all this good soil into a large pail. Plant roots and all.
Several herbs though where viable and are presently enjoying restablishing themselves in a couple of larger pots.

the poppies are planted and showing some new green As well the peony and I am so excited about the clematis Three of them One was a large white flowering plant

Washed out the trays and containers and have them stacked in the back shed to give to my son

Got lots of dirt that I used to top off things in pots and to fill a couple of pots before planting them

The dirt and pots where a bargain, and then, free plants on top Wowie I was and am happy as can be

That garden centre is now closed down for the season, as are many in Canada. Just a short seasonal thing.
boy it is hot here in Ontario Canada, just now. To hot.

Truth is, some of the big box stores (Home Depot for one) do NOT own the plants they are selling, until they are actually sold (called pay-by-scan)to a customer. Then and only then does the store pay for them. So they don't really have an investment in how well the plants are doing. If they die, they lose nothing. The plant vendor is the loser. Usually,the vendor rep has the responsibility for seeing that the dead plants are taken away, and that the racks are stocked and taken care of. There is supposed to be someone in the store watering, but that isn't always true as the stores are often understaffed and too busy in the season to keep up, or they hire kids who know nothing about plants and don't know how to water.

My DH worked at HD for several years and before that he owned a small nursery/landscape business, for nearly 30 years. His biggest frustration at HD was not having enough employees, and not having enough employes who knew anything. He tried his best to keep the plants watered and cared for but being the senior member of the garden dept staff, he was too busy with customers to have time to do the maintenance as he would have liked.

And of course, regional management always has to have their say about how the plants were displayed, and often, THEY don't know the difference between a shade plant and a sun plant, either, or care.

I seldom buy from a big box store any more after the first shipments in the spring, when the plants are fresh from the growers. Not worth the hassle.

I don't understand why leaving the plants in the sun, or why spraying the dead plants orange is a big deal. What am I missing?

Some plant lovers and gardeners just hate to see plants tossed away. Even selling them at a discount, many plants would probably be sold to a person who could spend the time and care to revive them.

Annuals have a harder time with being revived after a certain state, but not always a total loss. However, perennials can return in the following year, even if the top growth is a bit ragged or even gone.

Additionally, this is not addressed often but it's just something I think about --- that soil and the plants that the store gave up on could be used in a compost pile. Either the store could have a spot for a 4x4 pile or if some customer does want it for compost, that still would be better than throwing it away into the dumpster. The store could fill up a trash bag full and just put a sign saying "free stuff for your compost pile".

When I see merchants or stores doing things I like, I will tend to shop there more often. This is one reason I don't buy too many plants from Home Depot, and instead choose Lowes. And it's the same reason someone else will choose smaller nurseries instead of big box stores.

i wouldn't even take a dump at those big boxes, if I had dysentary and they where the only place open

Quite frankly I love Lowes. I love the clearance racks. Occasionally I will splurge on a new plant if I happen to be there when the shipment arrives. I don't believe in spending lots of money on plants and Lowe's has allowed me to put some beautiful specimens in my yard. We do have a popular well maintained nursery near by and I love to browse there. For ideas. An Oakley hydrangea may be 50 dollars there but 24 non clearance at Lowes. Frugal folks like me will always shop the love me carts at Lowes.

I always feel so good when I shop at my local ma and pop nursery but most of the time it is just too convenient to hit home depot or lowes on my way home from work. The local place closes at 5... how are working people suppose to visit other than the weekends?

So I stop at lowes or home depot after work, but now I will be reconsidering. I don't like the shady mcgrady things you have pointed out about them. Thanks!

Join me in the garden! ➜ https://goo.gl/GHO5MN

Aside from the waste generated from dumping plants (and soil) that haven't been properly tended, some of you are acting like the box stores are putting kennels of puppies and kittens out in the hot sun to die. Columbines are lovely and all, and I have plenty in my own garden, but they aren't sentient beings.

I mostly avoid buying plants at the box stores because they are usually in bad shape. That said though, I definitely stroll through the garden section when I'm there to see if there are deals to be had on stuff that just rolled off the delivery trucks and hasn't had a chance to be neglected. I love my local nurseries, but they are absolutely more expensive than Lowe's and Home Depot.

Well, I'm a vendor at a Lowe's garden center, and I cannot believe they put the columbines out in full sun. Yes, we have a plant-o-gram to follow, but we make changes on little things as needed & update the plant-o-gram/let management know, & explain why we changed it & it's always fine. There are times however, that my boss as a vendor will say no or make changes but it is rare. They are always happy with what I do & Lowe's employees as long as it's good for the plant & makes more sense. It is tough at times trying to listen to my boss, and the plant specialist when we differ in opinion, but it's rare. I've heard I'm lucky to have such good employees at Lowe's that are easy to get along with & we work together great & rarely have problems. Most things are my vendors, therefore my, responsibility to get done. Lowe's Manager does have final say on somethings, like placement of holiday flowers in store traffic....they can say no we don't agree w/the vendor, I'd rather have them by the check-out. That's the basic sum of how things work. We don't spray our dumpster plants LOL

Home depot is not the only big box to do this. Wal-Mart is horrible when it comes to watering their plants.

I didn't read the whole thread, but I've worked in retail and those are called "loss leaders." They know they're going to lose money on them, but their purpose is to draw people into the garden center to buy other plants. Here in FL, every year they put out baskets of columbines in the spring, which will 100% NOT make it through our hot, wet summers, and every year, people buy them because they are beautiful. Same with the Mother's Day hydrangeas. Only a couple of varieties of hydrangea will grow in most of the state, but every year, people buy them and every year they die as soon as summer comes.

It's just how they get people into the store to shop. They don't care about the plants like we do.

The people at Lowes in Kernersville are jerks. They lied to my face about destroying my items in a crusher, which they do not have and cheated me out of $300+ Stay away. My return receipt was even incorrect. Refused any responsibility. Praying for a Home Depot in Kernersville, NC.

Lowes sucks!

In my area, Lowes take much better care of their plants than HD .... and "ghettomart " is not even worth discussing.

Our Lowe's is amazing. The HD here is too far away for me to shop there much, and most markdown plants at WalMart are so far gone, they aren't worth it, but Lowe's sometimes has almost new, perfectly healthy plants extremely marked down. I got a $9.98 pack of pansies for $1, and they had a racks of them. They had to clear space for other plants, so they just took the loss.

Lowes in Kernersville, NC sucks. No customer service whatsoever. Downright nasty! Drive to Home Depot or use local Hardware Stores!

I had an experience with a fast food chain. The owner lives 5 states away, but controls the heat/air conditioning from his location. The employees had no power. The district leadership had no power. I believe in the power of communication and every company has some kind of email. I have emailed this corporation several times to say I like their food, the location, but if they won't keep the building at a comfortable level to save a few dollars I'm not coming and I'm taking my extended family with me. We meet and enjoy it there. Each time I've complained corporate has contacted the owner and suddenly the climate is adjusted.

For stores like Wal-Mart I take out my phone and take pictures. I send those with my complaint or my 'concern'. I'm rather blunt about it. I went to a store and they only had 1 person working at this chain dime store. I said, "If your store loses a lot of product to shoplifters or if people don't return because customers wait 20 minutes to get checked out I don't want to hear it and know I'm taking my business elsewhere if you can't fix this."

If we ALL spent 10 minutes to contact Corporate they'd listen. We have power in communication and numbers. We want responsible businesses and good products. Heidi

Let's see. Is this about making stores more frugal for themselves? If the product is shabby, I don't buy it. It's costing them money, not me.

They buy plants from Lowe's because they can return them for a full refund, their policy is 1 year with a receipt only on trees, bushes, and perennals, ( they have to dig up their dead plants to bring them back WITH A RECIEPT..

Why are they going to sell Cattle, pig, chicken Feed

If I want to purchase this I will go to Tractor Supply or the COOP store...

Im tired of box stores buying olants to let then die! All because they are insured (walmart). And inheard Lowes was throwing away seeds to make room. Sell cheap, donate to grouos that grow food for

You're the most annoying customer... I assume you have a nice garden and you're here to make it more pretty, so be grateful that you can spend a day shopping and maybe you actually get in the garden? You're shopping at a retail nursery, so even though aquilegia likes part shade, don't expect to find such a beautiful plant tucked away in the corner. They're pretty, and they sell, that's why they're in the front shady spots.