See "D": Empty soda bottles are good space taker uppers, as are bricks/rocks if you want more weight. Packing peanuts are a PITB, and don't offer anything an empty soda bottle doesn't offer, even bricks would be better than peanuts. Water tends to perch above layers like peastone or packing peanuts. And since packing peanuts have closed-cells, they don't hold water or nutrients, and roots can't penetrate beyond any imperfect (open) cells at the very surface of the particles. Soda bottles or bricks at the bottom of the pot take up space in the part of the pot most likely to be occupied by perched water. Essentially, they reduce the volume of soil occupying the PWT, and in doing so, they reduce the amount of perched water the container can hold. This means that air returns to the o/a soil mass much faster. Imagine how much less perched water the soil could hold if up to 90% of the shaded area in figure A above was taken up by bricks or empty soda bottles (90% less). The PWT is always a fixed ht with any given medium, even if it perches atop a drainage layer. Anything you do to reduce the volume of soil in the PWT reduces the volume of perched water. Al

I had been purchasing the "not so great" plants at a discounted price for several weeks and the cashier would list the item on the receipt as damaged - as is. Therefore, no warranty would apply. Then yesterday they were throwing away plants that were in better condition than the ones I had bought. Anyway, I was just surprised. This Lowe's store just doesn't care about their plants. I can tell you that the one in Alpharetta (Windward Parkway) is awesome. They REALLY care about what they do and are very helpful. There is someone always in the garden center willing to help you. I appreciate everyone's stories...it helps me to understand there are some that are compassionate about what they do and are willing to make a decision in the best interest of the plants and then there are some that can't.

All of the answers are wrong. I recently went through this and hired a pro to fix it. For $1400 he shoved some weather stripping in my 4 sets of french doors. This is a garbage fix. Finally I fixed all 4 doors myself. What you need is a bump threshold. M-D Building Products 69709 1-Inch by 3-1/4-Inch by 73-1/8-Inch TH153 Bumper Threshold, Bronze https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YUGSCC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_6VAqMTR5lSupb The bump threshold provides a solid aluminum bottom edge for the doors to seal against, with a silicon gasket. I used an oscillating saw to cut the bottom of the astragal so the astragal won’t hit the bump threshold. In my last house I had Anderson Architectural French doors. What I loved is that it was a single unit that included a gasketted seal on the bottom. Essentially a jam, just like on the top and sides. You could turn a hose on for an hour and you would not get a drop of water inside. They key is that the bottom has a jam too. So when I searched for a fix for my shitty-installed french doors on my new house, I wanted to reproduce this solid edge seal on the bottom. And after much searching I found the MD bump threshold. In addition I replaced the door shoes with M-D Building Products 43337 M-D... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKSFEAI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share And I replaced the drip caps: M-D Building Products 68734 1-7/8-Inch Vinyl - 36-Inch DB037 Door Sweep with Drip Cap, Bronze https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001M58S8I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_pKixN4pHg3L89 I also recommend this adjustable stripe plate which helps make sure your door latch engages at the right place so you get that satisfying “thunk” when you close the door and feel it latch into place at exactly the right place for the door bottom to seal tightly against the bump seal. Defender Security U 9488... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D2K39BM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share Overall, fixing a shitty French door installation isn’t easy. But if you are weekend warrior, then installing a bump seal might be for you!

"Maybe they are grown with shade from the sides so they have to reach up for sunlight? And also protected from wind" Yes. "They are also pushed with fertilizer and low branches are pruned in the drive to create a saleable product as quickly as possible." Well, not only that, but they are most likely all grown from cuttings. I'm not sure what they use, but I tend to take cuttings, stick them down in the containers, water them, and then let them do their thing. Large cuttings, as well as small, can be propagated. I myself, will admit, that I do push my potted plants (that I sell) with nitrogen fertilizer. Every spring I use water-soluble fertilizer, except I mix it stronger than recommended. It really does boost growth, and helps to make my topiaires denser, making them sell better. The plants are not going to suffer any long-term ill effects from this fertilization, although, I wouldn't recommend fertilizing most plants in this way.