Horrifying sight at Home Depot - Orchid Board

Melody · #1 04-15-2010, 07:34 PM

So while I was at Home Depot today, I swung by their orchid section, like I love to do

, and it was a beautiful and horrifying sight!
Lovely large phals with crown rot!!!!

Pretty much all of them had it and/or sunburn.
It was heartbreaking...they were all labelled too. I would have taken one home with me if they had been healthy!

I was so horrified, I took photos: Picasa Web Albums - Melody - OrchidAbuse

The flowers themselves were large and the plants were in 6 in pots.

barkingsquirrell · #2 04-15-2010, 07:45 PM

Very sad. Some poor unknowing soul will purchase one of those and be sorely dissappointed. Possibly even turned off from growing orchids forever........and will be out $22.

dounoharm · #3 04-15-2010, 07:46 PM

thats sick....so unfortunate they didnt stand a chance...

Izzie · #4 04-15-2010, 07:58 PM

I hope you alerted the garden department- it's possible that they simply weren't told how to water and care for the orchids.
Every time I've talked to the employees at Lowes and HD, they've been very eager to learn how to better care for the 'chids.

eta: All this to say, I doubt this was intentional, just a case of misinformation, or no information on care.
The result is horrifying, yes, but certainly not malicious.

Melody · #5 04-15-2010, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Izzie

I hope you alerted the garden department- it's possible that they simply weren't told how to water and care for the orchids.
Every time I've talked to the employees at Lowes and HD, they've been very eager to learn how to better care for the 'chids.

eta: All this to say, I doubt this was intentional, just a case of misinformation, or no information on care.
The result is horrifying, yes, but certainly not malicious.

I didn't even think about talking to them about it...I wish I had! Even though they can't save these guys, it would help for future knowledge. I'm going out of town for the weekend, so I wouldn't be able to go back over there until I get back. I'm certain they just don't know.

lambelkip · #6 04-15-2010, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melody

It was heartbreaking...they were all labelled too.

You can safely ignore the labels - many large growers lie about the identity of their plants in order to sell them more quickly. The label in your picture is spelled wrong, which is one of the warning signs to look for. another sign to look for is significant variation in plants with the same label.

Izzie · #7 04-15-2010, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melody

I didn't even think about talking to them about it...I wish I had! Even though they can't save these guys, it would help for future knowledge. I'm going out of town for the weekend, so I wouldn't be able to go back over there until I get back. I'm certain they just don't know.

They'd probably take a call (that would take what, 10 minutes?), the sooner the better- and would probably appreciate learning how to keep from destroying future shipments.

I'm the kind of person that reports anything I see like that- I like to nip problems in the bud.

flhiker · #8 04-15-2010, 09:07 PM

I have to tell you that they don't really care. Unless you happen to have someone who likes to grow plants/orchids that works there. The plants are sold on commission (the store loses nothing) and the vendor just replaces them (here anyways) once a week. They are so mass produced and cheap they don't want to take the time to care for them. so they just turn on the sprinklers and let the water go where it will. They either sell or get tossed.

SkierTaz · #9 04-15-2010, 09:13 PM

I got my first orchid from home depot, mined you I don't think it was as bad as these ones, but it had abit of root rot. I pointed this out to a customer service rep in the plant section and scored the plant for 12 dollars v's it's 28......SCORE! Best thing is, it lives on!

Melody · #10 04-15-2010, 09:29 PM

Well, I took Izzie's advice and gave them a call anyways. Unfortunately, the garden center manager had already left for the day, but the associate I talked to said he would leave him a note about it and told me to definitely call him back in the morning. So, I'll take the phone number with me, and try to remember to call him while I'm on the road tomorrow morn. It can't hurt to at least voice a concern, even if they don't head it.