Lowe's table of death

[cmmcd0472]

I was not sure where to post this but I wanted to share my experience and to find out what experience others have had with purchasing orchids from Lowe's. I have found that for me, I have to arrive within a day or two after they receive a new shipment or many of the plants have gone terribly downhill. Our store carries mostly Phals and Oncidium hybrids and I have am always on the lookout for Cattleya hybrids, which are rare, they are really into the mass-produced Phalaenopsis. Earlier this week when I was in Lowe's making another purchase, I visited the greenhouse to see what they had and to my surprise found a pretty Catt. However, we have had outdoor temps in the 100+ degree range for a couple of weeks and it was horribly hot in the greenhouse. I don't know if it was an issue with their ventilation but plants were literally dying on the spot, I was lucky to have saved the Cattleya. There were a number of Phalaenopsis that were badly burned; I don't know if they moved those to a different spot to try and save them, or if the plants just suffered too much heat stress, but I have never seen anything like that. I also grow African Violets and it seems more difficult all the time to find nice plants. An entire table of violets were literally ruined. Instead of disposing of these obviously dead plants, the store marked down the price and moved them to a sale cart, which I refer to as the dead table. What a waste because I am sure they were all pretty plants and healthy when they arrived from the shipper. I know that it is possible to obtain sale plants that are still pretty decent (I've only done it once with a Potinara that was out of bloom, obtained for $5.00), but why would they think that anyone in their right mind would purchase those horrible looking plants, they need to just cut their losses and move on. I cannot believe that the garden center staff does not recognize that those plants are beyond the point of being salvaged by anyone.

I know people enjoy the challenge of nursing orchids back to health, but those of you who do it also run the risk of bringing home diseased plants and exposing your healthy plants to all kinds of nasty things. Beginning growers try this because they think it saves them money, but to me one healthy plant is a better investment than 2 or 3 questionable plants, and when it comes to orchids, a person does need to know what they are doing.

I appreciated the common sense sticky in regard to purchasing healthy orchids, and I hope that people follow that advice. I did want to hear other's experiences with Lowe's. From what I have read, the dead table seems to be a common occurrence in their stores. Thanks in advance.

[james mickelso]

A lot depends on the shipper and the store. A lot of folks new to orchids buy these inexpensive bargains simply because they are just that. Inexpensive. Beginners won't spend a lot on an orchid because they think it will just die or it will be too difficult to keep alive. They bring their tragedies here for us to heal. And we do. Some continue on and find more orchids in the bargain bin and then learn how to grow those with our help. Then a few graduate and collect more orchids and do well with them. Lowes, Home Cheapo. TJ's, and the rest of the box stores are the reason orchids have become popular with the masses. Without them, there would be few of us around to talk shop. I remember, not too long ago, a simple BLC might go for $50+ and the selection wasn't all that great. Now you can find the same orchid online for $10. But that is all because the big box stores started selling these lowly noids to us and whetted our curiosity. Hooray for HD. If it weren't for them, few would be here.

[My Green Pets]

Our local Lowes/Home Depot/Wal Mart only carry Phalaenopses. I would say that Home Depot's usually look the best.

Lowe's doesn't seem to water their orchids at all. They are all in various states of wilt. That's good for the opportunist, because dry plants seem to be easier to revive than wet, rotted ones.

Table of death is a funny way to put it. Last week, they had about 15 large Phals and a couple of mini's out on clearance. $3 each for the big ones and $0.50 each for the minis. I bought 4 large and 2 minis, and don't forget they come potted in a clear plastic orchid pot sat inside a nice glazed ceramic pot. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

I agree that a healthy plant is worth the extra money. I've certainly reached that point. When I see a great deal on fairly decent-looking Phals, though, I'll always be tempted. Once revived and brought back into bloom, they make wonderful gifts

Here's a pic of the new additions.

[Suzanne17]

I'm a nurse- I enjoy nursing. I'm a beginner, but I have a collection of clearance as well as orchids from professional growers. I like the challenge of bringing a plant back. And I don't feel I'm exposing my collection to more disease if I follow good culture and quarantine rules. In fact, my mealy problem from last month came from a non-clearance orchid from a grower.

All that being said, I think the clearance table is common to Lowe's and I always check it out when I'm there. Often, the only reason a plant is there is because the bloom is finished. I've only had one have fully rotted roots. But I check the roots in the store and I won't take a clearance phal home that is clearly beyond any help.

[Bulbofett]

I love Lowe's clearance plants. It was my very first orchid that came from there, and is still thriving today. It was just a small, $1.00 mini phal on the brink of death. I nursed it back to health, and a year later it bloomed.

Since that very first orchid I purchased more and more clearance plants. Some looked well, and others didn't even look like orchids anymore. Out of all the clearance orchids I purchased I only lost one. I hope they continue trying to kill their orchids, that way I can get more orchids

I've never had issues with disease, or pests *knocks on wood*. I keep them quarantined from my healthy plants, but it always irks me when growers say to start with a healthy plant. I say, start wherever you feel comfortable, healthy or no.

Clearance plant list:

4 NOID Phals
2 NOID Oncidiums
1 NOID Dendrobium
Eplc. Jackie bright
Blc. ports of paradise 'gelenyrie's green giant'-green
C. chocolate drop x pot. san damiano
Blc. Wendy Tanaka 'Volcano Queen'-White
Maxillaria Tenufolia

Can you tell I have experience bringing plants back from the dead yet? You can see the condition some of them were in , in this post here http://www.orchidboard.com/community...rossed-me.html

[Lilac]

Hi cmmcd! I know how you feel. It's terrible to see the poor plants in those conditions!
But I must say the clearance plants are also such a great way to learn about orchids!
Suzanne I also agree that its a great feeling to bring them back.
CambriaWhat, those Phals look great!

James, so true, so many of us started out with HD orchids!

Bulbo I've never had issues with those either.But I pick carefully

I don't like to go to the clearance rack though because I want to buy them all and rescue them!!!

[SydneyH]

Our local Lowe's has orchids on the clearance bench mostly because they are finished blooming. If you choose carefully, you can find some good bargains to practice your growing skills. They don't seem to get much care once they go to clearance so you have to get them early.

I buy orchids from growers and at orchid club raffles and auctions, but I still check for bargains at Lowe's.

Sydney

[RandomGemini]

I think that every beginner should rescue at least one phal from the clearance table at Lowe's.

You will learn a LOT about your orchid in the process of attempting to save it. If it dies, it's not your fault. You can blame it on the shoddy care it received at the big box store. If it thrives, you can take credit for its recovery, because of the shoddy care it received at the big box store.

It's a win win for you. The plants are inexpensive. The lessons you learn will save you a lot of money down the road.

I have a Phal that I rescued from Lowe's. It will be a while before it blooms again, but I'm okay with it. I've learned a lot about caring for orchids in my environment because of this plant. If it doesn't bloom for another year or two, I'm good with that. I've got it growing new roots and new leaves and I applied the lessons I learned from it to my other plants and have rebloomed other phals that were purchased in much better shape, thanks to what I learned from that one rescued phal.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I always stop by Lowes every couple weeks between March 1 and October 31 because that is when Lowes may have non-Phal orchid shipments. Sometime you can find excellent plants for a bargain price and in good shape, right after the plants arrive. But caring for those plants seems beyond their grasp.

I have rescued plants, but I don't do that so much anymore unless it's for a friend.

[cmmcd0472]

Thank you for all the replies. I certainly see nothing wrong with purchasing healthy plants out of bloom on sale, there were actually 2 Cattleyas left in the general population with wilted flowers; I'm considering asking the store if they will give me a deal, I'm pretty sure I can rebloom them. What upset me was the store not taking care of their plants and then expecting to sell extremely heat damaged merchandise. They could have moved those plants into the store where it was cooler or maybe one of the employees could have "fostered" them at home until they got the greenhouse cooled down, then sold them at full price, just some thoughts. I probably am going to write to the store manager, which probably won't do any good but it will make me feel better. Thanks again for sharing your experience.