Our local Lowes does not have a green house, so they discount a lot of plants that have to be protected during the winter. They had a lot of houseplants discounted 50%, and tropical hibiscus in a 4" pot, normally $4.27 for $1.00 each.
I got several of the hibiscus, red, orange, pink and a yellowish one.
I don't know if they all are doing it. The cashier said that it was mainly smaller stores that do not have green houses...... It is worth checking out.
I always love a bargain!
Jeanne
Local Lowes discounting prices for Fall
Our Lowe's had perennials for 50% off last weekend.
These may have been left over from that....and still on sale. I don't know if it was an advertized special or not.
Did you get anything?
They may still be on sale, I left a lot of items! LOL!
I did pick up a "Royal Red" Buddleia, Butterfly Bush. It is a dark Purple to me. Also got a Rock Rose. The DH was with me and I am getting ready for a swap; so I really didn't need anything more to plant. LOL!
No, I didn't need anything either, but I sure do love them. My son says that we have a jungle out here! I told him, "Oh, no we don't", just come look at the pictures of other gardens at DG!!!!! Still got plenty of room! Haven't even started on the front and side yet!!!!! LOL
TG77, wonder if Tomball or the one on 249, is small enough! I'll have to ck! Hibiscus for a buck sounds like a bargain to me!!!
Thanks for the info. Will let you know how 'small' these locations are! lol
:~)
I used to work for a grower that supplied plants for big box stores like Lowes, HD, etc. (We didn't supply the indoor houseplants, though.)
Here's how it worked, and this will explain why those stores have those mark down plant racks (well, one of the reasons, anyway...) :
Those stores do not buy the bedding plants on a final sale basis. They get credit for the ones that go bad when the route guys restock the tables. The discards get put in the dumpster and can't be resold or discounted. (At least that's how it was done here.)
Gallon plants and 5 gallon plants are final sales to the stores. The stores don't get credit for them when they don't sell or get damaged or die. They mark them down to low prices just to recover SOMETHING for what it cost them.
Our winters here aren't severe enough for those stores to have to provide any special treatment for sensitive plants. It's all about mass movement of merchandise and no concern for the plants themselves, most of the time. It always amazes me how the put hanging fuchsias, ferns, etc. in blazing hot sun on concrete for days at a time, and then not water them.
"Buyer Beware" !
I agree but it is also amazing how "tough" some of those plants can be under such adverse conditions...
Thanks Jasper for the info!
Yesterday evening when I was there they had some of the marked down plants sitting right in the direct patch of their huge fans. They were getting wind blown...terribly....just beaten to death from the wind. I told the cashier that the wind was damaging them, and she just shook her head. She said, "Well, they've already been marked down 50% anyway." I explained that it was hurting the plants, and she finally said, "Yeah, they shouldn't have put them there."
There was no sign anywhere that they had been reduced 50%, altho it was in the computer. But the point was, that the wind was just whipping them around.
Podster, they were being tough sitting there and taking it! Some of them looked a little worse for the wear, tho. Poor things!
SPCP Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Plants. Hmmmm.... LOL We could be the plant police. Show a DG badge and seize the abused plants... 8 )
10-4 on seizing the mistreated plants!!! lol
LOL. Yea, try explaining that to the Baytown Police.....but Officer, I was just rescuing these abused plants......H O N E S T!
I'll have to check out my local Lowes.
Dean_W
I think once they put them at 50% 0ff or less, they just quit watering them!!
...if they ever even water them to begin with ! Those stores pretty much rely on their nursery stock moving within a week...and that's only about as long as they usually fare given the neglect they get.
Ours waters....I've been in there when they've been watering. The ones I bought were pretty damp...even today. I need to repot them, but had to run errands today, and tomorrow, so it'll have to wait.
HD and LOWES have the plants on consignment. They really could care less what happens. The plant nurserys pay for so many shelves in a certain area. If the plants don't make it...too bad.....the nursery takes the loss....not the big box. I have really climbed all over the manager at the HD nearest us. Just makes me sick the way they mistreat the plants. He was real sarcastic.....if I didn't like it....did I want a job watering?
Hmmmm, Christi, he sure didn't have very good personal relationship skills? Did he? (shaking head in dismay.....)
Do you have many nurseries in your local area? We have a few...then there are several on the other side of Houston.
I like to look around at Lowes, esp at their sales. They used to have tropicals for $5.88, and now they are almost double that....$9 something!
Every once in a while they have something interesting....like the coconutz tree!
That manager has been fired, thank goodness. The Lowes around here seem to take better care of the plants. We have several nice nurserys here.
Well thank goodness!
The Lowe's near me has the garden center on the West side of the building! Do these people that design them remember this is Texas?? The poor things cook in the summer sun and when they are watered it is during the day of course, which is the worst time.
Hey....anybody from Lowes and HD reading all of this?????
Probably not....but it might not hurt to email them at their websites and put a bug in their ear!
Got the day for fair day... went to Lowes in Desoto and they had crepemyrtles on the sale racks - the deep purple leaf ones - for .25 cents each... I grabbed all four.
Wow, what a steal!
Yep,,, 8 plants in all this morning for just over 2.00 ... 4 crepes, 2 pampas grass, 1 duranta that look realllllllllyyyyy bad, and 1 white salvia that looks the to meadow sage to me but we will see.
Wow....that is good deal! You lucked out like a bandit! Nice variety too!
thanks.. I will keep my eye to see if they have anything else..
You might check Home Depot....they probably do the same!
Not here - home depot here sends the plants back for a refund, they discount nothing
Good information to know! Thanks!
WalMart it matters how they buy their plants too... one of those things, some they just send the pot back and others they discount...
Speaking of being plant police...
I was driving home on 249 (country frwy) yesterday & some yahoo had two plumeria that had to be 6-8' tall laying in the back of his truck. He was going @ least 70 & no protection for these poor, beautiful plants.
I wanted to pull him over & load them in my CR-V so they would have a better ride!!! To my house, of course!!!
:~)
Yeah, I can just see all of us with lights and sirens attached; Loud speakers saying "Pull over, Pull over! You are being arrested by the plant police. Surrender your plants now!!!!!!!!!" LOL
Wait - we cannot do that?
OK....YOU try it, and if you don't get arrested, then I might try it!!!! LOL
I have been known to take a plant or two from family already...
You know, I thought about it, it might actually be legal. It's called "citizen's arrest".
I haven't investigated just how far that authorization goes.....but you never know.
Yeah, I've rescued a few things from family as well....in particular my daughter.
My Mom's a great gardener, but I don't think I inherited any of it from her.
I credit Miracle Grow and water, and the Good Lord, none of it's my doing.!
We had a new Lowes open in our neighborhood ... my old neighborhood actually. I went in just to see and I was given a 10.00 coupon with a 25.00 purchase, so you know I did a lot more than look. lol I got another coupon. I am going back to get that Yew I saw for 19.95. :)
Good going City! They send out coupons here every once in awhile, but it's usually to spend more than I can at that time. That works!
As far as big box stores go, the home depot landscape stores have the best employees (they are knowledgeable, friendly, and they water the plants). There are home depot landscape stores on skillman and loop 12 (nw highway) and frankford and g.bush. There is another one in Frisco, but haven't been to that one. These HD landscape stores are huge monsters devoted to landscaping. The plants get in earlier, have more selection, and are in way better shape than the average HD.
edited for grammar
This message was edited Oct 6, 2007 9:07 AM