I'm just distraught over this. My daughters and I went to home depot looking for some plants. We went through the plant department and found a cart with plants that were and marked down to $2.00, so I started putting them in my cart. There was lavender, histas, and a few other perennials taht I was not familir with being a newbie. As I was doing this an employee stopped me and told me taht they were not for sale(there was not sign). When I questioned him a bout it his answer was that they received full stor credit so they they threw them away. I was disgusted. We walked out leaving and themn found some hibiscus plants for $7.97 and most of them were in terrible
shape. So I went back to this man who I found was a magager and he told me he could not give me a discount that they get full credit. I told him what I thought about them being put into a dumpster adn he told me tath that is not exactly wre they are put. He said they are put into a baler, crushed and made into compact bales.
I was just horrified. I asked him why the plants were not tken better care of and he said that they can only water form above and that it is not good for all of the plants.

As I left I stopped another employee and complained about this store policy and he told me that the manager had thrown out $4000.00 worth of plants the day before.

Shame on Home Depot... Shame Shame Shame

Has anyone dumpster dived behind the stores to see if any plants were thrown out back by lazy employees?I might have to stop by the local Lowes one day just to see.Could be a few "throw-aways" that just need a proper growning conditions.

It's a fact of live, people. The giant box stores are the most wasteful segment of our society. Nothing you can do except refuse to shop there, and how many people are going to do that?

I buy very few few plants there because growing plants from seed is cheaper, more interesting, and you get a huge selection. I guess I don't understand how it can be frugal to buy plants. Maybe if you bought flats of starts from nursery wholesalers. I have thought of doing that. If you went in with some other people in your area, it would be really worth doing.

for the most part, stores are evil.

but very few of us are so independant that we will grow everything from saved seeds or cuttings traded with neighbors, much less throw pots for home use, or weave our own cloth from hemp...since, if commerce is evil, cotton is a particularly vile demon.

all of which are things that some folks DO do. in fact, last time I checked, more than half the world lives this way, making toys for thier children from scraps, and trying to make a good enough garden that they have something left over to sell...

but I definately have to agree, since I first heard this arguement from my grandmother, who was opposed to the rise of the five and dime stores, which she thought were an indication of moral decay in the country.

I seldom get that look from any person more than once.

I rarely shop at HD because the one near me never takes care of their plants and if you aren't there the day they arrive, they aren't worth buying. If they have to throw the whole lot out, it's their loss, not mine. And since I know I can't buy plants there, I don't go in the store to buy anything else. If I need paint, lumber, or a storm door, I go to Lowes where I can also prowl for bargain plants.

Half the time they have no idea what im talking about and say to me.. "if there in the garbage, i don't see why not"
so i go and take what i want..and try to nurse it back to health. i think only one time someone b-ed at me, and i told them, i was sorry, the woman inside said i could have them.

Maybe i sound dumb saying this, but i feel so sad for the plants that get tossed out like that, it is a shame that allot of people often see plants as so disposable.

Why cant they make a community program and donate the plants to clubs or organizations??? Im sure allot of kids would have a ball. Or some retired people in homes could have a great hobby to take up some of their time.
the possibilities are endless!

-my 2 cents - SillyB

big business is sad, and helping to ruin the enviroment.

we have white rose here in canada, and they have open dumpsters. i used to get truckloads out. often i put them through te compost just to use the soil up. made me sick that i was composting every little crumb and they were throwing away so much.

i was innocent then, and had no idea how much waste there was out there. i sure wish i could get into those open dumpsters!!!!!

like you, some stores leave them beside the dumpster for awhile and i rescue them whenever i can.

i wish they would donate them to charities. it would be so nice to fix up the front of the spca, or soup kitchen or something that doesnt have the money to spend on extras, but could benefit from a sprucing up.

The only plants we get full credit for are any plants you see inside the store, and tropicals that might be outside durring the warmer months. Policy is anything distressed is marked down for seven days. After that, we call the vendor, get our credit and throw them out. Why do they give us credit? I asked this question when i first started. They told me that lowes itself is not selling the plants, vendors are selling their plants through lowes. Vendors fight for the "privelge" to sell their plants at lowes. Which means is if they are an approved vendor, if their plants die for any reason, we get our money back. It sounds stupid that if I forget to water a plant and it dies, the company gets its money back. But the fact is that the vendors takes that risk of loss because they are selling a whole lot more through us than they would on their own, and at a higher profit. Lowes does not make that much money on plants, our mark up is only between 20-30%.

Nothing kills me more than people asking me if they can just have plants that i am throwing out, and telling them no. I try my best to keep everything alive but the conditions inside the store are horrible. I would love to give away the stuff we get credit for(or take it home myself) but unfortunatly... i need my job. If a customer walks out the door, goes dumpster diving, or gets anything marked down more than 50% on full credit items, and mentions my name... its unemployment for me. Ive already been warned a couple of times.

But if ya want anything in my yard thats past bloom or out of season. I can make all the deals i want. I like to find homes for everything.

I went up there yesterday to drop off my entries and they look so nice. Even the ones that had been smashed were blooming. In the past when they have been asked to donate to the fair they have always said no. I guess I must have guilted them into it.

Unfortunatly when I went in to Walmart to pick up some bird netting. The lady that had been tossing the flowers was very nasty to me. There isn't another place to shop. We are a small community and do not have the other box stores.

8)

I did get some nice half price (past blooming) orchids at my local chain nursery (Johnson's if you live in Maryland).

Florrie

Firstly, as it's been explained by many a store employee, yes the store / nursery gets credit back from the manufacturer for plants that have expired / haven't sold. It is an agreement between the buyer and the seller that the plants are DESTROYED. It would cost the seller too much to have them shipped back. In some cases this is done, but usually this is limited to small items such as bulbs and small houseplant items and such. I know it makes sense that "Well if they're going to throw them away why can't I have them?". You cannot have them because the store is under legal obligation NOT to give them away. Then one would say "Then they should take better care of them". On any given spring day, go out to one of these nurseries and start counting plants. Just start at one row and start counting. And realize that in a given week, thousands more plants will come in, thousands will be sold, and maybe less than a few hundred will actually have expired, gone past there prime. There is a turn-over, like any other business, because even with good care, plants die. Things come up. Crap happens. The better nurseries manage to keep their plants happier longer, but in the long run, a large perennial shrub can only last so long in a 5 gallon bucket. Less in a gallon pot. Less in a 4 inch pot.

Now as a frugal customer, you see this as blatant waste. And anything a employee tells you is an excuse for this waste. And of course there's always incompetent people to make matters worse. Guess what? There's incompetent people EVERYWHERE. I see them everyday. It's only obvious that some of those people would have jobs where they work incompetently in an area where we would inevitably be forced to interact with them. Back to being the customer, you see this as waste and expect the nurseries to do something about it. What? I've already established that they can't just 'give them away'. Should they let them sit on the sales rack longer then? For how long? You have to realize that the stores don't just throw a clearance sign on a plant for five minutes, clock it, then say 'Okay toss this baby out we're getting credit for it!". No, they try to sell it first, at a lesser profit to them because like it or not, they're a business. They're trying to make a living just like each and everyone of us does as well. So they try to at least squeeze a meager profit out of it. If that doesn't happen within a reasonable time, then the store logically has to move it. Why? BECAUSE THE PLANT LOOKS LIKE $%*^. See, a frugal customer, myself included, may see a plant in need of rescue. But a vast majority of shoppers see that as a sign of a bad nursery, a business that does not care about it's image. Even if a business hides this clearance 'zone' away from the main public eye, it will eventually be seen, and in many that leaves a bad 'taste' in their mouths as shoppers. Remember, the business thing? Business need money. That's how they stay ... in business. If you want that plant, then get it when's it's discounted. Lots of other people were already willing to pay the price it was worth when it was healthier. Fewer, though still some might pay it's accomodated price for it's current state. But when I have to deal with the constant "Oh, you're throwing that away? Can I have it? *no* ... " every few weeks? People like that give frugal shoppers a bad image. I see these vultures every so often. They're a rare breed, mind you, and shouldn't be alloted with the rest, but they're there. They eye the same plant, every time they come in. They get in a tiff when someone else pays for it at a price they wouldn't give in to, and they fuss when they don't want to pay at a price lower than what they themselves would've gotten it for even if they were a wholesale business. Freaking VULTURES.

Now, stores / managers should be somewhat accommodating. It's not unreasonable for a customer to ask for a discount on a plant, but asking for anything over 40% is pushing at a major loss for the retailer. In the customers mind it's "just $5" but a loss is a loss. It is a constant reflection on someone's higher-up (even small businesses have higher-ups) that can be good or bad, and every loss and gain counts. Friendliness and respect will get you far here. But do not assume that because even if you are a regular, that you are given manatorial (I so made up that word because I could) privileges.

Personal rant: Customer comes in. Sees flat of flowers, looking not their best but certainly not out for the count, in July. Asks if he could get a deal on them, and had they been actually worse for wear, I would've asked the manager. But they certainly weren't, they had new buds, so I said no. He then gets the gall to insist "Well, these petunias are starting to get covered in fungus, and you're an idiot to not give them to me at a discount price. Now it's just going to spread, and when you throw them away, the manager will let me take them out of the trash, because he knows me". I replied with an "Okay, sir" and left, because I didn't need to stoop down a few levels. I didn't need to stoop down and tell him "Sir, that'd be great and all, if those really were petunias, and not the lavenders they really are. And if that really was a fungus, and not normal leaf variegation, which it is. And if the manager really knew your name, which I'm pretty damn sure he doesn't".

So, frugal customers, bear with us. Forgetting about the few incompetents out there, we're really trying our hardest to do the best with what we got. It's business, that's just how it is. And most of us try to compensate elsewhere when we can. Our business is a strong donor to 4-H. We try to use our utilities wisely, and operate in the least wasteful manner. You're not going to see us throw away a truck full of flowers because they were Marigolds that "Well shucks, these should sell good in January", and then they all froze. It's my nightmare that one of my higher-ups may one day do that, but that's neither here nor there and will probably be dealt with should it ever happen.

Thank you for your patience.
Jordan

Try to imagine for one minute if word got out that any retailer would just give something away when it was in bad shape.

I'm sure no one on this site would ever do this but believe me, having worked in retail for 20+ years, there are TONS AND TONS of swell folks out there who would break, tear, stomp on, uproot, roll over with their cart and then have no problem cheerfully and regularly taking item to the counter and ask for a freebee. Seriously, when HD had a policy to take back any plant that didn't live, people brought back their DEAD CHRISTMAS TREES, After Christmas! I am not kidding, I worked there.

Working with the general public isn't pretty people. get over it and shop at your local stores if you don't like it (oh, but here's a dirty little secret - they throw things out too).

I can't believe people are going to the manager and complaining about plants being tossed.

I know several local greenhouses including the Amish who do the same thing.

Get a life and be happy !

by the way, when dealing with employees at big-box stores, please keep in mind that they don't make the rules. however, if you don't express your indignation and treat the employees nicely (and with respect), sometimes they'll bend the rules in your favor.

HOME DEPOT DOES NOT OWN THE PLANTS BEING THROWN AWAY!!!!!!!
HD does not own them until you pay for them at the register. Think of it as a display area for the nursery providers. HD would NEVER waste product its own like that. The plants are so cheap for the nurseries to raise they just toss them when they start looking bad, or honestly, when they need room for something else.

Hopefully this has helped out of few of the horrified and shocked people commenting. Its not all big and bad like you think! Bring it up with the store local nursery provider.

As a grower, I throw out flowers all of the time. Sometime beatiful product which isn't sold because of cancelled contracts, over ripe, missed the ship date, whatever. It's business. I don't WANT to throw the product out, but it happens. That's business. I'm lucky enough that my product can be tossed outside (with out a pot)and will decompose. I can't give these products away to local organizations because I am, ultimitally, running a business and want to make money. If I give away product once, local customers will come to expect it and then I'll just be growing product to "give away" which does little for my bottom line.

Major retailers, like Home Depot and Wal Mart, are where you want your product in my business. I'm lucky enough to be a vendor at both of these companys. With Wal Mart, the vendor chooses how product will be disposed of if it is unsellable, option one is return to vendor and option two is destroy. Live goods don't receive these options, mostly because once it's dead, it's dead. You can't repackage it and send it somewhere else. So, as much as you think it's a waste, don't blame Wal Mart, it's the vendor who chose how unsellable product will be dealt with. The sales assosiate is just doing what the vendor wants him to do.

As mentioned in other posts, Home Depot is PAY BY SCAN. HD doesn't own the product and has no say in whether or not they can give you a deal. PBS is tough on vendors. You put your product into the store in hopes that it will sell at full price. Most of the time, that doesn't happen, specifically in Horticulture.

So please, before you post about how bad it is that the plants are begin thrown out, think of the vendor. Those are his or her profits being tossed out, at no cost to HD. The Vendor paid for the cutting, the vendor paid for the soil, the vendor paid for the tray, the vendor paid for the tag, the vendor paid for the fertilizer, the vendor paid the shipping costs, at HD, the vendor paid someone to take care of the product. The only person loosing in this situation is THE VENDOR!!!!!

So do you really think they want the product tossed?

I understand that flooding the market with clearance-priced plants is not going to be good for demand...

But these aren't necessarily just your everyday garden plants; these are the least-popular colors and varieties after others have been picked over, these are remaining plants that are battered and perhaps only a third or half would survive the year, and these are often being sold out of season.

I think it's about helping the vendor recover some of the losses, which I'd be happy to do, especially considering how many nurseries are small businesses in a generally-mindful and well-meaning industry.

So as someone who loves a clearance deal on plants, I don't think saving a bunch of plants from an otherwise certain demise (of a variety I probably wasn't particularly looking for and of a quality I wouldn't particularly like, but happened upon in its last stop before the dumpster) is somehow depressing the market for plants. I'm still gonna go out for the big, healthy showy ones next year when they're in season.

I am frustrated with the big chain stores - not because I see it as a waste of plants, but because I see big business coming before good business or big business coming before business that gives fair consideration to all parties. I know that many small vendors feel so lucky to get an audience from a major chain in the first place, that they'll accept whatever deal they can get even if it's risky for them.

Support your local independent nurseries.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Locally-Owned-Garden-Centers-or-Nurserie s-LOGON/206317609401303

I love getting ADD. No, not that ADD, I mean After-hours Dumpster Discount. :-D

There was a "dead" coconut palm at HD sitting next to the trash after much talk they said I would get a major discount on it, like 80% markdown. Keep in mid this was in October. Eventually a man at the register, who was the manager i believe, ended up offering me a second coconut palm "dead" which was in really rough condition for absolutely nothing! I walked off the lot with an amazing smile and an oppurtunity to save these tricky plants.