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You are here: Home / Retail Therapy / Confession: I buy plants from Big Box stores

Confession: I buy plants from Big Box stores

September 2, 2010 by Andrea Bellamy 20 Comments

Acer palmatum 'Ao Shidare'

Acer palmatum ‘Ao Shidare’, purchased from—gasp!—Home Depot.

I realize that it’s deeply unfashionable to shop at such stores, and that my confession may come as a shock to some of you. After all, I’m a Hardcore Gardener, right? And Hardcore Gardeners are very clear in their disdain for Home Depot and their ilk (please see Exhibit A: Garden Rant).

Some of this scorn is well deserved, of course. Big box retailers are known for selling spectacularly crappy plants. Too often, they’ve been sitting around too long and are root bound, spindly, and stressed—a week away from the great compost heap in the sky. And finding a knowledgeable salesperson to help you? (Or any salesperson?) Forget it. I won’t even get into the ethics of labour policy or impact on small, independent businesses.

They do have their merits, however. They offer great value for “disposable” plants (cheap and cheerful annuals, which must be the mainstay of big box garden centre sales). I’ve also had good luck finding basic, mainstream perennials—again, for a great price (notice a trend?). I recently bought a great little Japanese maple at my local big box, after phone calls to several independent garden centres failed to turn up a dwarf green variety (apparently they’re too nondescript).

The secret to successful big box shopping, of course, is to get there when the plants are still thriving. They’ll receive regular shipments; you’ll want to be watching as they unload the truck. If you can’t do that, know what to look for in a healthy plant. Examine it for signs of disease, pests, and stress. Is it green and bushy, or gangly and yellowing? Check the bottom of leaves for pests like aphids, and the bottom of pots for slugs. Make sure it’s not root bound (do the roots circle the sides and bottom of the pot because the plant has outgrown it?).

I do love to support my local independent garden centres, and do most of my shopping there. Nothing rivals the thrill of going to a great little nursery with an hour or two to spend dreaming, planning, and, of course, buying.  Sometimes, though, it’s hard to resist a deal.

What’s your take on it? Are big box stores invariably evil? Or do you do most of your garden shopping at one? Did I just lose all credibility as a garden writer?

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Filed Under: Retail Therapy, Shrubs & Trees Tagged With: choosing healthy plants, Japanese maple

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Vanessa says

    September 3, 2010 at 5:35 am

    Good morning!
    Love your blog, it is quite informative. With regards to your question, I am guilty as charged. I do shop at the box stores primarily due to the size of our yard. It is quite big considering I live in southern California and as much as I would love to support our local garden center, it is just not feesible at this time :(

    The maple is absolutely gorgeous (luv those little trees!) I do have a question though. How often will you water this tree and do you use the soil that has the “water beads” in it? My biggest problem with containers is the watering. Sadly I have killed many beautiful trees (maple and ficus) due to containers.

    Thanks!
    Vanessa

  2. Colleen Vanderlinden says

    September 3, 2010 at 6:56 am

    I shop at big box stores for the same reasons you stated above. I love my local independent nurseries too, but when I’m looking for a bargain, or a lot of plants to fill an area without breaking the bank, I hit up my local Lowes or Home Depot. I’m a Hardcore Gardener, but not a fashionable one :-)

  3. patricia says

    September 3, 2010 at 7:41 am

    Maybe it is the area where I live, but I find the big box stores here keep their plants in pretty good condition. While I don’t make them my primary source, I have often found good buys on interesting plants. I was especially sorry to see the Target nurseries go. I used to make a point to go into the store through the nursery just to see if they had something I might want.

  4. Loree/ danger garden says

    September 3, 2010 at 8:05 am

    Everything in moderation right? While I prefer one of my many nearby fabulous locally owned nurseries there is a time and a place for hitting the big guys. As you’ve pointed out. My border of black mondo grass along the sidewalk came from Home Depot, and is still thriving 3 years later. While it wasn’t cheap it was certainly more affordable than if I had bought the plants somewhere else. Plus…they were gallon sized, not 4″ pots. Instant impact!

  5. Jaspenelle says

    September 3, 2010 at 8:34 am

    I buy my bulk materials at Home Depot. I built three raised beds this past year, all the lumber came from their of course, beyond that one bed was filled with soil & compost from the local place and cost almost $100. I bought similar material from Home Depot for the other two and filled them for less then $60 (and those beds are growing better oddly enough…)

    90% of my plants come from local businesses but I tend to be a bit of an impulse plant buyer. My lavender came from Home Depot while I was buying lumber, it is doing great. My teacup rose came from *gasp* Walmart and is a stellar little plant. I think Loree said it best, everything in moderation.

  6. Adriana @ Anarchy in the Garden says

    September 3, 2010 at 11:15 am

    I bought an Acer at le Home Depot too! It was $40.00!

    I don’t discriminate. Home Depot, Lowes, Osh. Wherever there is a plant department I will be there. With that said I also patronize my local independent garden center. A lot. FTW!

  7. Ryan says

    September 3, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    I bought a number of perennials at a big box store but the plants were grown near by (with 150 miles or so) and are suited to my region. I live across the street from a local greenhouse, but they specialize in annuals.

  8. Tricia Drover says

    September 3, 2010 at 12:30 pm

    I have bought plants at Wal-Mart (ugh,I know, right?) and in spite of the awful experience of having to actually go in there, I’ve had pretty good luck. I’ve found healthy plants and, what is more, in Van Wal-Marts most of the stores get their plants from Chilliwack, which is at least relatively local. I’m torn – what is better, to support the little guy that maybe bought his plants in California, or to buy local, even if it is from the corporate devil? Sadly, there are no easy answers…
    And thanks for the comment on my blog!

  9. Nature Drunk says

    September 3, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    No worries, I believe garden writers are allowed three purchases from big box stores per year : ) I have been known to shop at Lowe’s for commonly used plants or for CA natives like Ceanothus that have proven their worth and, consequently, are being stocked more regularly. As for the specialty plants and personal service, nothing beats the smaller nurseries. BTW, nice pottery choice. I like the way the simple lines and color work with the foliage of that variety of Acer.

  10. Monica the Garden Faerie says

    September 3, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    I’m self unemployed and have a huge garden. On principle I want to support small, local garden centers, but the reality is, I can only afford to regularly shop at one of these (hey Coleman’s!). I start a lot from seed and trade a lot of plants… but you can’t beat Lowe’s and home Depot for $3.33 gallon shrubs (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gardenfaerie/4955451038/), especially if you have a huge space you’re clearing of buckthorn but want some kind of border because it’s near a public footpath. And I just got a rockin’ elephant ear for $1. All my mums are 25 cents at the end of the season. I’m a serious hardcore gardener and I’ve never been afraid to admit I shop Big Box, too!

  11. Rebecca Sweet says

    September 3, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    As do I. But like Loree said ‘everything in moderation’. Too bad Target’s closing their garden centers – they were even cheaper than the big boxes when it came to throw-away plants. I’d go in there and just CLEAN UP sometimes….

  12. Blackswampgirl Kim says

    September 3, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    I mostly shop the independents… but when I’m going to a HD or Lowe’s to buy house stuff, I of course run through the plants. And if they have a succulent or tropical–or a new variety of perennial, for that matter–at about half of what I know I’d pay at the independent? You know it’s going into my cart!

  13. Laura says

    September 4, 2010 at 9:45 pm

    I do a little shopping at my local big box. If I’m there for something else, I can’t help but swing by their plant area. Occasionally I’ll find a good deal. Something I can rarely pass up! Generally though, my time is split between the local nurserys. I’m a dreamer!

  14. Denise says

    September 6, 2010 at 8:58 am

    The BBs seem to be able to keep succulent plants going, but most of their plants look miserable. Not your JM though! What a beaut. If I’m there for building materials I always check the plants out but mostly avoid the BBs and will even pay more for potting soil at independents. Something about the lighting at the BBs drives me nuts. But then I never have to buy plants in large numbers.

  15. Christine B. says

    September 6, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    Good grief. If shopping at Home Depot is a garden sin, it’s way, way down the list in my case. There is, quite simply, a dearth of choices (and small independant nurseries) in my state. So I buy healthy and unusual plants wherever I find them. If that means Home Depot, so be it.

    I do find that I apologize to other gardeners for shopping there though. I wonder why that is? During one of my presentations on ornamental grasses, I recommended HD as a source for a rare grass prefaced with the phrase “I know it’s not fashionable to say so, but you can only find this grass at Home Depot.”

    Now if I were still using synthetic fertilizers on the (small) lawn, or letting my cat out into the garden to make doo in the neighbors veggie garden and stalk wild birds, then I’d be ashamed.

    Christine in Alaska

  16. Megan says

    September 7, 2010 at 7:41 am

    Well, it really depends. This year I purchased from both small business greenhouses and big box store greenhouses.

    Big box stores are excellent if you arrive right after a shipment (normally if you ask the staff, they’ll be able to tell you when new shipments arrive – even if they aren’t at all knowledgeable about the plants themselves). Recently I filled up a newly dug area in the front garden with plants purchased at Home Depot. I got 3 big lavender plants, 3 ornamental grasses and some sort of shrub for about $40 altogether. I can guarantee this would have cost $100 at the greenhouse.

    You have to be careful though because sometimes it is actually cheaper to go to a greenhouse – for example, in the Spring it was cheaper to buy flats of pansies at the greenhouse and it ended up being cheaper to drive to a farm outside of the city to purchase trees.

    I’ve run into problems from plants purchased at local greenhouses as much as ones purchased from big box stores – last year I purchased house plants from the greenhouse and came home with an aphid infestation that ended up murdering many of my existing house plants – so you never know.

  17. allanbecker-gardenguru says

    September 7, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    There are certain kinds of perennials, in reasonably good health, sold at Home Depot, in large size pots, at small size pot prices, that are not available anywhere else. I support my local independent nursery as much as I can, but good value is paramount and I will take it wherever I can find it. No gardener should be embarrassed for getting the best bang for their buck. The money that doesn’t grow on trees doesn’t grow on plants either.

  18. Michelle D says

    September 7, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    Why discriminate ?
    Spread the love and the money.
    I live 12 miles from one of the best stocked nurseries in the North Bay area of San Francisco,…. guess what nursery it is ?….. guessing…. guessing….
    “The Home Depot in San Rafael , Marin County.”
    Those in the “horticultural know” from Berkeley to S.F to Sonoma and Napa routinely make this particular Home Depot on their ‘Must Go To’ list because the nursery manager, Charlie Rossi, a 40 year horticultural veteran, orders some of the most unique plants at wholesale prices.
    This past summer the San Rafael Home Depot had the biggest baddest succulent offerings outside of the big growers in San Diego. HUGE selection, Great quality, Fantastic prices. Service sucks. – guess you can’t be great at everything.

  19. Megan says

    September 10, 2010 at 6:30 am

    I used to love Target’s garden center, before I was connected with the wholesale nursery hook up. Don’t feel bad. Today I head to San Rafael for work, and I might just have to take a detour to the Home Depot. Thanks Michelle for the tip!

  20. Bruce says

    May 14, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    I live in the good old U S of A and will buy wherever I darn well please.

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