Ello, ello, friendly neighborhood Resource Plus vendor here. Long story short, we're the people in charge of marking down plants at Lowes, and so here's how it works. (Located at the Orem, Utah location by the way.) It used to be that we could mark the 'distressed' plants down to whatever we wanted. Now, however, we have to follow the 1,3,5 rule. If $0-$4.99, it goes to $1. $5-$9.99 goes to $3, and $10-$14.99 goes to $5. Anything 15+ goes down by 50%. Now, if these don't sell fast enough, THEN we get to mark them down more, usually by about 50% off the current price each week. As for choosing which plants to mark down, it varies. I personally usually wait until the plants actually need some TLC to look good. My manager wants them marked if dying. If dead, diseased, or bugged, we are required by law and company policy to dispose of them in the trash compactor. Stupid, I know, as I have seen many savable trees, bushes, and flowers (not to mention benches, cabinets, toilets, ect...) crushed. But we CANNOT give them away. Don't ask. That bit about Home Depot getting credit back? It's true. They expect their plants to die, and are little better than Walmart about watering. This is not just me supporting Lowe's (as being seasonal does not bring loyalty), but from actual experience as a gardener. I don't like HD plants, never will. The success rate has just been too low. Walmart is fine if you catch them before they die of drought. (And yes, we will make deals on mass buys of clearance. We want them gone.) If you have any other questions about the program, let me know. I'll gladly help. And if you are near the Orem, Utah Lowes, pop in and say hi to the vendor. This post was edited by CinderSparx on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 18:52

That TS you bought looks like a rooted cutting with about 1.5 seasons' growth on it. I'm not slamming it or anything, just observing. It can be fun watching things grow from a smaller size, especially if you've found the right conditions for it. It's likely the ones available in the next few years will be bigger (and get slightly cheaper) because it takes time to grow them larger and increase quantities, especially with the widespread droughts out there. Example: mac. Pistachio will likely not be available from F&E this year due to growing conditions.

I was NOT impressed with photos I saw of this plant - I thought it looked ghastly! And then I saw it in real life and in bloom and I couldn't resist :-) In my climate, the pink was a much richer, deeper jewel-tone color than the pics depicted and a great contrast to the chartreuse. And the coloring just gets better as the flowers age. I should also let you know that I am not a fan of 'pink' in virtually any shade - never owned a pink hydrangea and never wanted one and selectively removed anything else in the garden that bloomed pink. Obviously this plant seriously impressed me :-))

Vinsone, do you mean South Dakota by SD? If so, follow the link below to find your hardiness zone. Looks like that would place you somewhere between 3b (-35) to 5b (-15). Pistachio is only rated hardy to -20F. If you're in zone 5a (-20) or 5b, it may work for you if well-sited & heavily Winter protected. If not, you may have success growing Pistachio in pots overwintered in a garage or other shelter. What size pots were your Pistachios in when you got them? Pot size often indicates the age of a plant, with smaller pots for younger plants. I'd be hesitant to plant anything less than a gallon directly in the garden myself. Many pot up smaller sizes into larger pots as they grow to give them the advantage of more controlled conditions till they're more mature, often growing them along in pots & planting out the following Spring after late frosts are past. Depending on your zone, you may find your Pistachios able to adapt to 9-10 hours of sun as they get older, but that's a lot of sun. The tag that came with mine says morning sun, afternoon shade. In the meantime, if your zone allows for growing them in the open garden, shade them past noon while they're so young. Lawn chairs, cheap umbrellas stuck in the ground at an angle to deflect noonday sun, replaceable cardboard propped with stakes or any other juryrig that comes to mind & hand will do in a pinch. Agree with livrerosa's sound advice. If you have a "mist" setting on your watering handle, fine misting is helpful to hydrate the leaves when the rootmass isn't established or large enough to deliver moisture to them under stress. You can mist them in the morning before the sun hits and later under shade with positive benefits several times a day. Mulch helps protect the roots & lower the soil surface temp, but keep it from touching the stems. Trialing two Pistachios in 3-gallon pots here in zone 7a central Virginia the past month, find them doing fine with 7 hours of full sun in an ESE exposure with daytime temps ranging from 70-98. They may take more hours of sun than that - haven't tried. Kept well-watered once a day, no scorch or wilt yet. Bought in bloom & bud, first flowers still fresh, original buds blooming & new buds coming along. With new additions of uncertain sun-shade preferences, like to keep them in pots for a season before planting early September or so, which this zone allows. That way they can be easily repositioned to change exposure if indicated. (The lazy gardener's way of finding their best spot.) These 3-gallons are ready to be moved to 5-gallon pots, and two 1-gallon mophead hydrangeas of other varieties bought late Spring have already been repotted to 3-gallons. You may find it easier to pot your Pistachios now, give them afternoon shade, and plant out again when they're more mature & able to handle your garden conditions. Here is a link that might be useful: This post was edited by vasue on Thu, Jun 26, 14 at 11:37