It never hurts to check out the garden center discount racks at places like Lowe's or HD. Recently, I was at Lowe's looking for something, and I saw a young lady tagging plants for discount. Out of curiosity, I was looking them over when I spotted a couple of plants I thought I recognized. I was turning the pots to see if there was any label besides "Foliage". They were marked $7.00 and the girl told me (and I quote) " Those are, like, some kind of lilly I think. They bloomed once, but we've been watering them and they won't bloom again. If you take both of them, I'll mark them down to $3.00." In my most casual voice, I said "Ok. Maybe I can get them to bloom again." When the clerk rang them up, those Symbidium Orchids were originally $35.99 each. Quite honestly, I think that was a pretty good deal. :) It's no slight to the folks who work there, they just don't know much about what they are selling. Check 'em out. Jim
Check the discount racks at the box stores
Great find! Go get 'em!
Also, if you go to Lowes website and print a coupon for $10.00 off a $25.00 purchase you can save or buy more !!!. We always need stuff from there and why not save $10.00. They had their patio/lawn furniture on sale(Ashford) and I had been drooling over the bench for awhile-- so.
We are putting in a watering system in the backyard ( homemade style) and needed more pieces ,, so I printed another coupon and saved another $10.00. I think the deal expires at the end of the month.
jana
Dutchlady, I wish my Walmart had some good(stressing) good plants. They carry the norm,,, not anything special. When I get the chance to go to other places ,,I always need something ,, so, I go to Wallyworld--- straight to the plants !!!
I usually find something I really NEED,,, hahaha.
Walmart has recently built 2 more sorta close and I visit them ever so often to LOOK.
jana
Where are the coupons on Lowes.com? I couldn't find any.
I'm noticing my local Wal-mart is carrying more unusual stuff every year. This year especially I purchased several things I never thought I'd ever find locally. Even better still was the local K-mart's selections. Several banana species and I don't mean small plants either. Those bananas were in 5 gallon containers. They had a lot of aloes, odd annuals, vines, and a surprisingly decent selection of succulents (again, some were large). But I'm not a succulent person, so...
But you're right, there can be some nice bargains out there. I think they average person has no idea what they are looking at and how nice a grab something might be. Guess that leaves more for people like us eh?
kay, I dmailed you with some info.
jana
Thanks, Jana!
Someone posted that she bought some Siam Tulips at HD a few weeks ago at a store close to my area. They didn't have any at the store close to my house, so I called a store several other stores and their garden center employees keep telling me that "tulips" are not in season and that the bulbs been removed a while back!!!
I just wanted to hang myself. This is not 1 STORE, but 6 stores that I called. I got 1 employee that knew what I was talking about and we got disconnected and I didn't get his name and his co-workers were CLUELESS too.
Kay & Jana- Where do I find the coupon you mentioned? Thanks.
Teri
Here is the link Jana sent me:
http://loweswinners.com/lowesVisa/textEmailPrint.aspx?data=I2Y6OTQILFQ3W03E
Goodmorning, Kay, thanks for the reminder ,,, I just printed out another coupon. I need some garden soil and spray paint so I will go to Lowes and save $10.00. Walmart sells it cheaper but not $10. cheaper. Yes, you have to use a Visa but if you don't like to keep a balance like me,,, I just pay it off when it's due and no interest. Do any of you have an Ace Hardware near you? There are 2 in my driving area and woooo... One of them really have some nice plants. They all operate alittle differently and it will depend on the person in charge as to what kinds of plants they carry. The one in Kingwood is amazing with all kinds of different plants.
Thank you for the link!
Our Ace doesn't have plants, but I do love to shop there. I love their "rewards" program. They are always sending coupons. Even for you r birthday it's $5 off.
I second what janabarnett said about Ace Hardware! They get in things that the box stores never have. They buy from independent growers.
I believe Ace operates on a franchise type business,, so that way each place can decide what they carry. One Ace near me has a pretty good selection but the other one is spectacular! They are alittle higher in price than some places but if you want to find something different you usually pay more anyway.
jana
Our two Ace stores had red, pink and white Mandevillas, Clero. ugandense, Passiflora caerulea and Tibouchina plants for $19.99 each.
My mid-sized town has never heard of discouting plants near the end of the season. They would rather burn them.
dp,,, that's why I like Lowes,, you can find really good buy's when they mark down---- if you don't already have 2 of each of everything they offer.hahaha !!!!
One year, late in the summer, I was at HD and they had this half-dead bouganvillea and they were selling it for some outrageous price - $30+ Anyway, I asked if they would mark the plant down as it was the end of summer and you're not going to get any blooms out of it. Wouldn't do it. I asked them what did they do when the plants turn brown or die. Told me they take it out the back and dump them and employees can't have 'em and sometime the people they bought it from give them partial credit. **yes, the vendor gives them credit** that was what I meant to say.
This message was edited Jul 16, 2008 11:15 PM
I never see our HD discounting plants either. But Lowe's does. End of summer last year I bought two dogwood trees and a weeping cherry for 75% off -- same to something like $20.00 for the three trees, and they were all in 5-gallon buckets. A month ago I bought bougainvilleas in gallon containers for $4.99 -- and there were three plants in each container.
Karen
OUR LOWE'S WILL NOT DISCOUNT ANY PLANTS, LIVING OR DEAD. EVER. They say they send them back to the vendor for credit. I read these fairy tales about HD and/or Lowe's having discount racks and so forth. No such thing here! They won't even let you have an empty flat! They say everything goes back to the vendor. Ace Hardware always has a sign that says "Plant Sale," but you find out that you get 3 free four-inch pots if you buy a complete flat. I still [heart] Ace Hardware, though, because they get in plants that the box stores don't.
That's a bummer that your stores don't have the discount plants. Around here HD never discounts theirs, but Lowe's usually has a few "distressed" plants. Some of them are so distressed that I don't think any amount of TLC could revive them, but sometimes you can get some stuff that's still got a little life left in it and nurse it back to health.
That is sad about you folks' Lowes. Ours has a discounted rack and if you find something on the retail rack that doesn't look so good, I can ask the dept. manager to reduce it and he will. Last fall I got 16 4" Clematis for 25 cents each! They are all flourishing.
Same here for HD not discounting but Lowes sure do--- although a few years ago I got some Easter lilies at HD for $.50 each and they still come up and bloom for me. Been on this pc too long,,, gotta go fed the dog, feed the fish, feed the birds,,, and feed ME.
jana
We don't have an Ace Hardware here -- sure wish we did. HD does mark down their packaged bulbs and the plants in the boxes that they have in the spring, but otherwise they don't.
We have two Lowe's here: one doesn't mark anything down until it's so bad you wouldn't take it home for free. But the other one has a regular mark-down area with many good bargains and will discount a lot of trees and shrubs in the fall. I think it all depends on the manager.
Karen
I suspect a lot has to do with the personality of store management. For example, my fave Lowes ALWAYS has good 50% off or higher discounted plants. And they're not dead either, like the ones offered at the nearby HD.
Last year I was soliciting donations for a local event and my Lowe's manager was very generous and the HD mgr was not. I do realize that these stores get hit DAILY for donations, and maybe I asked HD on a "bad" day. lol.
Also, it appears to me that generally, the employees at this Lowes look happy; the ones at HD look stressed, surly.
hahahahaa so funny to see you say that !!! I look at that sort of thing too. Sometimes I wonder out loud and say ,,, "did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or what?" They look at me funny but usually don't know what to say !!!
jana
I just visited my local Walmart and got Alberta Spruce in 1 gallon pots, about 30 inches tall, for $2.50 each, they were $9.00. DH only let out 1 huge groan when I showed them to him and got the shovel out of the garage. Now I have trees to decorate for christmas all along the front of the house.( I got 10 of them).
Well I won't shop at Walmart for many reasons, and I try to limit my shopping at HD as well (poor service), the Lowes in Burbank is very good and has deals sometimes, but I find that for Californians, Armstrong Garden Centers has some great sales. I was looking for some Howea forsterianas, and my wonderful San Gabriel Nursery had them, but for 150 bucks for a pot of three stems (about 1.5 ft. plants). I just went into the Pasadena Armstrong, and low and behold, the very same plants were 49.95! I was thrilled and grabbed two. So I went to the register, and they told me they were on sale - so I got them both for about 80 bucks. I then found out that they have an online circular. It makes it easy to find what is on sale - and Lowes and HD do the same thing - just go to the web page and click on 'weekly mailer' or something similar, put in your zip code, then it will display the deals available.
Another tip - since we are into Tropical here - I was at Orchard Supply Hardware (California chain again) and I saw they had Cat Palms outside for about 80 bucks each. Well, no way. Too much. So I go inside to the 'house plants' area and they had a LARGER Cat than they had outside, in a CERAMIC pot, for 29.95! Hilarious. I quickly snatched that up and took it to the register. I have found this is VERY common - always look inside for your outdoor tropicals, as they often have lower prices, or you can start with a smaller (cheaper) plant.
Jungleman, I miss the tropicals, but since I moved to Michigan from Reseda, I have to have them inside, at least for the winter, Mandaville vine and bouganvilla and some of the hot plants here. Lowes has a good supply and one of our local garden centers too. I just give them a hair cut and wash and we are in for the winter.
I sure miss California,the plants and the weather, but not the traffic and crowds.
Walmart here has more and more tropicals, I just got anthurims
Jungleman,
I cannot tell you how homesick I was to see a mention of Armstrong Garden Centers -- aargh! Lucky you!!
We have NO nurseries worth the name here at all. None, zip, nada. I had one "nursery" owner tell me that if it wasn't for their gift shop sales, they couldn't stay in business. Well, duh, she's not running a nursery -- she's running a gift shop! Another "nursery" owner seems to specialize in pot-bound plants. The third one isn't any better. Wal-Mart, HD, and Lowe's is as good as it gets -- Lowe's being the better of the three.
annaballe15,
Still have traffic and crowds here, too. LOL.
Karen
Karen -
Well if you're a REAL Californian then you don't mind DRIVING to get to a good nursery! ;)
Let's see, Tuscaloosa that must be close to . . . Birmingham?
Not being a native Californian, I can still make fun of other places not being California!
I loved the idea that a nursery specializes in pot-bound plants. Made me LOL.
Jeff
Jungleman,
Yep, I'm a REAL Californian. Born in Glendale and raised in La Crescenta. Tuscaloosa is about 50 miles from Birmingham. Nothing there either. I needed some Azalea/Rhododendron potting mix for some blueberry plants. Called everybody in Tuscaloosa -- nothing -- no surprise there. I looked up and called every nursery in Birmingham. Not only didn't they carry it, I didn't find one person who had a clue what I was talking about. Same thing for Cactus potting mix. In both cases I had to make my own.
The lady with the pot-bound plants brags about not putting plants on sale at the end of the summer but "wintering them over." I was in her nursery during the winter and watched her assistant taking horribly pot-bound 6" plants out, roots going 'round and 'round, plopping them into 8" pots and stuffing additional potting mix around the edges. And she's the one everyone thinks has a terrific nursery! Sheesh!!
So, it's Lowe's, HD, WalMart or the internet.
Karen
Last year we had a late freeze, mid April, and I went to Lowe's to see what was out. They had some frosted hardy ferns for 3-$1. I got all the good looking ones and they are now growing like crazy in my garden. Sometimes you do catch a great deal there. Walmart sometimes has a deal or two at the end of the season.