A disappointing trip to Wally World

[Silentrunning]

Last night on the way home from eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant I decided to stop at our local WalMart to see if they had any Azaleas for bonsai. The outside garden section was full of plants. Three weeks ago it was empty so I was pleasantly surprised. As I walked in I noticed many of the flowers on display were drooping. I processed to the back where the shrubs and vegetables were. Almost everything was dead. I felt the soil in several pots and it was bone dry. There were several nice plants that had already lost their leaves and were probably beyond salvage. All of the potted vegetables were dead. I couldn’t find one that looked like it would live. It is sad to think how many yards could have been beautified with these plants. Now, because of poor management, they will wind up in a dumpster.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

wish I could find the pic. but one day at Walmart --in the plant area---noticed they had a sign hanging on the Marigold tray, said Impatiens . took a pic and put on facebook. they have not a clue. .

 

[Chuck]

I learned long ago to never by plants at a big box store. They are either diseased, have insects, are mislabeled or of a variety not suitable for the local environment.

 

[zigs]

They should stick to what they know

This was in my local Morrisons...

 

[marlingardener]

We have wind here in Texas, and at big box stores and Walmart I've seen tubbed trees blown over, and employees just step over them! I try to not buy plants from big boxes or Walmart unless I must. I love smaller but better nurseries.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I learned long ago to never by plants at a big box store. They are either diseased, have insects, are mislabeled or of a variety not suitable for the local environment.

Big box stores have also been known to lace their plants with neonicotinoids. A death trap for pollinators. Now, I'll only shop at local garden centers and nurseries that don't use them on their plants, whenever I actually do buy plants. Of course, most big-box stores still don't sell native species for whatever reason, so I won't be buying from them anyway. I tend to stick with growing most everything from seed so I'm not taking any chances.

I was curious if Walmart and other stores were continuing to use neonicotinoids, so I looked it up.

https://www.commondreams.org/newswi...ee-killing-pesticides-while-ace-hardware-lags

 

[MaryMary]

Oh, Walmart!! I still get mad about Walmart!!

Last year, I found near-dead perennials, marked 50% off, but still, they were $7. I asked the employee if a manager would discount them more; I'd be willing to take a chance they might be salvageable (with proper care) for a buck or two, but I'm not throwing away $7 on a maybe.

The employee told me they'd get a manager if I wanted them to, but I was the third person in two days to ask, and the manager would not discount them any more. They'd rather put them in a landfill than give the plants a chance. From a business standpoint, I don't understand that. They would rather make nothing? Surely two dollars is better than nothing? It would have made me a happy customer, and I will talk about plants with anyone who will listen to me! Instead, they would rather make no money, and have bad things said about them. (I was so mad, I said bad things about their mothers!! .)

They don't hire in people that know anything about plants for the season, is part of the problem. They take an employee from another department, and don't teach them anything. Then, they don't want to pay them for the hours "wasted" in watering.

I think Lowe's is getting better. (Some of you may remember the thread from this winter, when I was looking for a way to keep the cats' water from freezing.) I was looking for the heating unit @Esther Knapicius recommended, and I wound up talking to one of their employees on their "chat" pop-up link. At the end of the conversation, she asked if I had any other things I wanted to say, and I asked about them increasing their stock of native plants. I said I'd like to see any native plants, but more specifically, I was looking for blue-eyed grass. (The one that @JBtheExplorer grows.) She asked me at which location I would be shopping, which makes me think they might have it this year. Yay!!

Also, this week, I heard that that same Lowe's is looking to hire someone, 20 hours a week, for the specific job of watering plants!

 

[Colin]

Hi,

They should stick to what they know

This was in my local Morrisons...

View attachment 34296

Nice one zigs; the staff don't need feeding they need watering.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I asked about them increasing their stock of native plants. I said I'd like to see any native plants, but more specifically, I was looking for blue-eyed grass. (The one that @JBtheExplorer grows.) She asked me at which location I would be shopping, which makes me think they might have it this year. Yay!!

Well, it's Lowes, so definitely don't get your hopes up. Any local nurseries in your area? They'd be much more likely to carry it, or at least consider carrying it if asked. I specifically grow Stout Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium), which is the most commonly sold specie here. Both places I go to carry it. Really surprised that it isn't a more commonly used specie in general.

 

[TomatoTango]

I was there yesterday and in the plants section saw one of those oversized garbage cans full of little potting mix dirt clumps with dying plants still attached. Must’ve been 4 or 5 hundred plants in it. At least we know you can use drugs and get promoted to management at Walmart, in case anyone was interested.

 

[vette-kid]

Our only local nursery is a major disappointment, so I'm stick with big box. Luckily our Lowe's and home Depot seem to have pretty decent plants

 

[MaryMary]

Any local nurseries in your area? ...(snip)... Both places I go to carry it.

I didn't ask them to get it, but I looked for it last year. Not only did they not have it, they had never heard of it. I ordered seeds, so I'll try to grow them this year. Since I want some ready to bloom, I'll also go to see if Lowe's listened!

At least we know you can use drugs and get promoted to management at Walmart, in case anyone was interested.

Is this something from your local news? It would explain some of their policies...

 

[zigs]

The employee told me they'd get a manager if I wanted them to, but I was the third person in two days to ask, and the manager would not discount them any more. They'd rather put them in a landfill than give the plants a chance. From a business standpoint, I don't understand that. They would rather make nothing?

There's a reason for that, if folk know that they'll discount them even further they won't buy them next year, happened to our local nursery. They discounted fruit trees at the end of the season and the following year couldn't sell them at full price, everyone was waiting for the price to go down so they took the decision to put the lot on their bonfire pile.

It took a certain naughty gardener all evening to nick the lot of them

 

[TomatoTango]

Our 2 nearby Walmarts are in the local news constantly, from large undercover meth stings to a robber getting lasso’d by a guy on a horse. An increasingly larger portion of the American population is on drugs at any given point, and we know this is under reported. I’m sure that it’s impacting corporate decision making at every level, in one way or another.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

We should all go on Walmart's facebook and put our thoughts out there.