LOL. Poor plants. I hate to see them suffer!

I went to Wal-mart. They had Desert Rose plants...Sitting in standing water. I just had to rescue one. I got there just in time! It's doing good too!

Except for the last very few days, we've had a cool and rainy Spring - everything in our HD this week looked half dead, dried up so it's not just one manager, one store. The whole garden section looked like it should have been tossed, or at least marked '90% off end of season sale' when it's the first week I've been gardening without a sweatshirt.

The only plants that looked good were a pallet of buddleia davidii 'pink something or other'....buddleia davidii is a listed Class B invasive here :(

I buy soil amendments there, nothing else, and spend my plant dollars at real nurseries.

The Home Depot and Lowes here always have mostly nice plants. I have seen some crispy ones there, but nothing like the tragedy at Wal-Mart. I bet that company loses millions in lost plants a year!

I was at BJ's a week ago and they had plants out front. A whole rack of plants that were wilted appeared to be mostly shade plants sitting in full sun. They had pots and pots of Hydrangea all wilted looking half dead with soil that was dry as a bone. No one had seemed to differentiate between sun and shade plants and when I looked around they had not found a place that there was any shade. I saw an employee, young boy, collecting carts and I called over to him that when he went inside, he should let them know the Hydrangeas needed watering, and he told me they had been watered. So I told him they needed more water then other plants and the soil was dry, and he rolled his eyes at me. [g] Another customer was crossing the parking lot listening to this conversation and smiling and as she passed me, she said I was just about to say the same thing. I had a feeling he was going to ignore me. What a waste of money. Who would buy a Hydrangea in that condition.

In contrast, Whole Foods seems to have given someone the job of collecting carts and caring for their outdoor plants. She actually had a gardening hat on and appeared to be enjoying her job. :-) Their plants all looked pretty good.

I just don't understand it. Managers of these stores can't help but notice the same thing we have, that the plants are often not cared for. I'll bet they frequently have to throw plants out.

It is the same at the Rite Aid in our town. They allow watering once a day and nothing more. What puzzles me is half the time when I go in the store to buy something the clerks are standing around chit chatting. I mean doesn't someone want to go outside, get some fresh air and water those poor things? Yikes.

Kate

Well, why would you shop for good quality plants at a box store? Why not find a local grower? Someone who actually cares enough about the plants to raise them from seed or cuttings? Someone who cares enough about plants to buy heat and hydro in winter so they can grow the plants you like? Growers know enough to water their plants.
And if your impulse to tenderness is so very, very strong, go and rescue plants from a local grower. If you don't, the grower will go broke, and all those lovely, lovely plants will die.
Put your money where it will do some good. I often want to tell buyers who come to our nursery that I don't sell lawn mowers and car parts and children's clothing, because I don't know anything about them. I wish that big box stores would stop selling things they know nothing about. Items from China that they can't vouch for. Annuals raised with frequent pesticide or herbicide drenches. Running shoes made by workers in another country who cannot afford to buy what they make.

ninamarie...probably 60% of what I buy is bought at local nurseries and another 30% are purchased through the mail or at local plant sales. Sometimes when I can't find something or I want a small inexpensive size which nurseries aren't offering, I check out the box stores. The last four times I stopped by Lowe's I came out empty handed and was pretty convinced my trips there would be even fewer.

Yet, I'm still not so satisfied with local nurseries. I have some perennial beefs. I'm not so sure they are always in touch with what customers want. Either that or my wants are not the norm. But really, of all the local nurseries I know, I am unaware of even one who 'asks' their customers what they are looking for or what's important to them. For me, the latest varieties in inexpensive plug size of annuals and perennials is something I go out of my way to get because none of my local nurseries offer that. Many of these companies have finally developed websites and this would be a great way to poll their customers but I don't see this being done.

Interestingly, I made a trip to three local nurseries and Lowe's last week. I was checking out their proven winners. Two nurseries were charging $5.99 each, one nursery was charging $4.99 and so was Lowe's. And the nursery charging the $4.99 was in better shape then the Lowe's. There was only one nursery that was actually offering 6 packs of veggies and annuals for $2.99. Ok, so at that price I don't expect proven winners, just marigolds, impatiens, just the usual stuff. Some nurseries are only offering the 4" pot of annuals now. I visited one of the largest nurseries in the area, and of six items I was looking for, they didn't have any and I left empty handed and aggravated. A decent tuberous begonia, a green leaved white wax begonia, the size hay rack liner I needed, a tomato stake taller than 4 feet and I forget the last one. Is that too much to ask for? This was not the first time this has happened to me at this particular nursery and I really dislike shopping there and I'm seriously trying to find a nursery that I really want to do the majority of my shopping.

One of my pet peeves, is that I see a certain variety of an annual that I like, but the nursery owner has chosen to use that particularly pretty variety to make up his expensive hanging baskets and doesn't offer it in the six packs or even 4" containers. I saw $50. prices on hanging baskets a week ago at a small local nursery. That will be the day I will pay $50. for a hanging basket.

I have stopped buying veggie six packs that are not organic. I don't have to do without now that there is one nursery that is 40 minutes away that offers great varieties of organic veggies and in a pinch, Whole Foods offers organic veggie starts. Nurseries have been extremely slow to attempt to make a switch over to organics. I just fume when they are completely stocked with smelly bags of Scotts lawn products and pesticides and don't offer any organic alternatives. They have also been slow to try to save energy costs. I have wondered why no one in my area has attempted to construct a solar powered green house. One local nursery went out of business last year and one of the reasons he stated was the cost of oil to heat his greenhouses. I have heard of solar powered greenhouses recently and I hope some forward thinking nursery owners will attempt to make some changes in that department.

Ok...sorry, I didn't mean to be so completely negative. There are lots of things right about some of the local nurseries...I usually have no complaints about the variety of shrubs offered and the prices are often within range. A number of places I visit are clean and organized. One is family owned and there is always someone there to help you. Their hours are great. I am sure it is not easy to try to be on top of everything at a nursery.

I don't think the big box stores are so much of the problem for nursery owners, they just have to get creative in keeping their costs down and keeping their customers happy. Box stores are the worst about offering toxic products too. They get very little of my business. Sorry for the long post..

I agree with Ninamarie. Prariemoon, the local nurseries in your area don't sound that great but you do have the power to make a potential difference. If the nurseries have websites, drop them an e-mail with suggestions, or if you're in the nursery, ask to speak to one of the managers (*not* a seasonal teenager who doesn't have a vested interested in the company).

I found an awesome local place for annuals - they sell the Proven Winners 4.5" pots for 3.79. (buy 10 get 11th free). They also sell home grown six packs of impatiens and the like for $2.49 and 2.79. Early in the season, 6-packs are the best!

I do stop at HD or Lowes once in a while to check out selection or pick up filler stuff. Mostly their selections are just B-O-R-I-N-G.

Ironically, I went to HD the other day looking for pennisetum rubrum. They used to sell it in 3-4" pots for a couple of bucks. Its a nice accent plant to stick here and there. But I could only find dried out gallons mentioned above. I was going to divide it, but didn't dare given its condition. Maybe later in the season, I can make some more plants from it.

I use to get some of the common stuff at HD. But the prices they starting asking for and the condition of some those plants just wasn't worth it. Though the HD around here are doing a better job. Now Lowes is where I get things on the dying rack (mostly annuals) and their 50% off on open bags has been a lifesaver. Lowes has impressed me on how well they take care of the plants. They strive to bring in different things each year but they still need help with perennials that will survive our heat, humility and freezing winters.

However, the worst is Big Lots. They should stick to trees and thats it. They had a table of bareroot roses in the store. After our last freeze which was around the end of April, I mentioned to a clerk that they really needed to be outside. I was ignored. About two weeks ago I was in the store and they looked mostly dead. Big Lots had marked them down but most likely they will end up throwing them away. I think they have a new manager who doesn't know anything about plants.

However, I do prefer nurseries but the best one close down two years ago and I have yet to find one I like. I thought the one hour drive round trip was bad but some of these places are really far out.

Wendy, what's the local place w the PW plants at that price?

Dick's Flower Market in Lunenburg. Amazing place. Not real user-friendly for browsing... most plants in greenhoues that are a tight fit for customers, but worth it.

I also was able to find 8" hanging plants that I can transplant into a 10" or 12" pot as needed. I paid $17 for a full 8" hanging million bills and it didn't even need potting up. I think the 10" size was $25, I forget for sure. The fancy garden centers are now approaching $40 for the big ones.

I absolutely can't stand the typical huge 12" hangers that are gorgeous but pricey and overfed and rootbound in no time at all and need daily or twice-daily watering right off the bat.

Our only really exceptional nursery closed 4 years ago. There are a couple of nurseries that sell nicely grown plants (the usual annuals and perennials), but just as prairiemoon complained, when asked for anything different you get the bored expression of someone who doesn't really care. As the owner told me one time, we sell out of what we have so why would we bring in something new? If a nursery is considered only as a cash cow by its owner, then educating or stimulating the public's interest to something better or different is not what they are about. I buy locally from whomever has the freshest, well tended plants. If a buck is only a buck to a private nursery owner then I consider it the same for me.

In my opinion you can't get good help at the big box stores, so if I know what I am looking for I shop there first...if I want help I always go to my favorite nursery. The staff is very well versed in trees and shrubs. Having a naked landscape at our new house, I knew that I didn't want to plant stuff and have to move it around a hundred times. I got great help at the nursery.
Yesterday at Lowes the poor girl in the garden center didn't even know what zone we lived in. I stepped in and helped the customer who was buying a cutleaf Jap. maple. Oh well, it saved the cashier the grief of having to call all over the place to find out.
I find it very sad going to anyplace where the plants are drooping and dead. It always wants me want to pull out the hose and start watering.

i find it really amusing that one of you is complaining about the HARDWARE stores care of nursery items ...

and another of you is complaining about the DRUG STORES care of nursery stock ...

and a third about the BIGBOXSTORE ala Wallee ....

isnt it like going to a yugo dealer.. and complaining that the stock just isnt as quality as a mercedes ...

what a hoot ...

ken

I do frequent Lowes, more so than many of the BBS. In my area they generally take better care of their outdoor plants. That said, I also check out the privately owned nurseries. BBS usually have the best prices -- and that is NOT a minor issue. If you hit them at the right time you can find some very nice healthy plants there. I'll get my 'run of the mill' annuals there most times. At the private nurseries I look for the more unusual or special plants that I wish to have.

The economy, in the state it's in, does favor the BBSs which can often offer things at lower prices. Unfortunate, yes, but with so many people being without jobs (at least in my state) & money being tight, it's the lower prices that will win out for many folks. Take that the 'rant' somewhere else.

Prairiemoon, I hadn't heard of anyone using solar greenhouses -- neat idea though not always practical. In my state, overcast days throughout the winter and, yes, even spring, are the norm. Solar panels are far less effective. That being said, it would be nice if more places made what use they could of them. I wonder if for that nursery you mentioned (the one that closed) if the owner simply was strapped enough for cash that he couldn't afford the expense of going solar? (I have no idea how much that would cost to do......)

Paul, I do agree that price is not a minor issue, especially in this economy. I think it could put smaller nurseries in a bind though, isn't that right? Someone posted that nurseries need the support of their customers to stay in business. I can see that point too. I am willing to give support to nurseries and I can adjust my gardening to try to do that. I don't want to give support to a nursery that is not meeting me half way though, and not keeping in mind that all their customers are effected by the economy too and trying to save them money as much as possible. Trying to manipulate me into buying a hanging plant that costs $50. by using a very popular plant only in that hanging basket and eliminating the less expensive six packs of annuals, doesn't make me feel so supportive.

I was told that the nursery that went out of business last year was spending what sounded like a small fortune for oil. The owner had been having health issues too, so that made it difficult to just keep up let alone be innovative and in the end, he needed to let it go. Yes, you are correct, changing an existing greenhouse to solar may be very expensive. Constructing one from scratch to begin with might be cost effective in the long run.

Ken, I think you may have missed the point I was trying to make about plants not being watered at a box store etc. I wasn't complaining about the lack of expertise at caring for plants there, or expecting any, but a business that allows such losses of their inventory and then passes it along to us.

mxk3....yes, I could express some of my dissatisfaction to management at more of these nurseries, but I have already done that at the large nursery that I don't like to shop at, with no effect. Sometimes I think that most people, companies included, don't really want to hear complaints or suggestions and are not very open to doing anything differently then they are doing them. I do respond though to a company that expresses an interest in what their customers have to say.

Paul here's a link to an interesting project done in New York and I saw a lot of links in a Google Search.

Here is a link that might be useful: Solar Powered Greenhouse