Hot take on picking leaves off sick plants at the garden center

Was at Lowe's in Phoenix last Tuesday, saw this lady picking yellow leaves off a calathea and putting it back on the shelf. I told her that doesn't fix the root rot, it just makes it look okay for the next buyer. She got defensive, said she was helping the plant. She bought three of them anyway. Anyone else dealt with people disguising plant problems before buying?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason28328d ago

Read something a while back about how big box stores actually mark down plants with visible damage like yellow leaves or browning tips. So by picking off the bad leaves, she might have actually tricked herself into paying full price for a plant that was already marked down in the system. Had a buddy who worked at Home Depot in the garden section and he said they'd automatically discount any plant showing obvious stress signs. The managers figured it was better to sell it cheaper than throw it away. So really she just made herself look good while probably spending a few extra bucks for no reason.

felix_thomas7328d ago

Wait, wait, wait. So you're telling me that Home Depot has a whole system where they just automatically cut the price on a plant with a few yellow leaves? That's wild. I always thought you'd have to actually talk to a manager or something to get a discount. So the lady who brushes off the dirt and picks off the dying leaves is actually costing herself money? That's kind of hilarious, honestly. She probably walked out of there feeling like a garden pro and she just paid full price for a plant that was already marked down a few bucks. Man, I need to start looking closer at the clearance sections now.