Home Depot throws all orchids away once flowers drop?
 

I just found this a bit amazing. I was at Home Depot today and picked up a couple phals to replace losses to S&H not working out. I noticed a huge number of phals and some paps under the decking in the dark, at least 30 of them with cut stems. I asked the employee that covers the area and he said they throw them all out. I asked if I could take some of them and he said it was still full price.

How's that for messed up? Other than dropping flowers they looked like very healthy plants.

I used to work for an Orchid nursery here in the San Diego area and Home Depot was one of the places we supplied with Orchids.
I too found out that they would toss them out into the dumpster when they were out of flower. Needless to say I got caught "dumpster diving" once at one that I knew where they were throwing a bunch of stuff away.
This particular store now compacts all their plants regardless of the type.
It's a "Money" driven world and Lord forbid someone should get something for free when there could be a dollar made with it.
Just my 2 cents.

Two words - dumpster diving
:coverlaugh:
I am surprised .. many times the big stores send them back to the suppliers who I assume replace them with ones that are in bloom .. How sad it is that they would be thrown away because they no longer look 'pretty' with flowers .. It's a terrible shame and just wrong! .. :((

Graeh - you beat me to it ;)

That's horrible! I am a little too vocal about stuff like that. I would have asked for the manager and give him/her a piece of my mind.
Grrrr....they could have offered to sell them for a minor cost to cover shipping them there or something. Just knowing they do that really fries my butt!
We should flood the HD headquarters with letters/emails protesting the murder of orchids. I'm really outraged!

Hi all, The Home Depot I deal with the most told me that the supplier takes them when they bring new. What they do with them, who knows. But true! I have a friend that worked there and they would rather destroy merchandise rather then give them away. A group like Habitat for Humanity could use a lot of what they destroy.

I would have been willing to buy some so long as it was a substantial discount.

I was shocked to find that my H.D. also they said they were sorry but they had to destroy them once they were out of flower, what a shame. Jim.

I've never asked about that at my local H-D, but I have been there several times when the supplier is bringing in new orchids and bromeliads. I've watched them, and they put out new ones, move things around, and take back the ones that maybe don't look too good, etc.

Perhaps it depends on the supplier.

Sure is wasteful. . .

I had an annoying experience a couple days ago with my local HD usually they are willing to give you a 10 % percent discount if you ask but on that day the nursery lady manager was acting like a b*%*h or maybe she had reached her discount quota of the month. She informs me as a few of you mentioned that what doesn’t sell the vendors take back... so what! Then she tells me do you want it or not?..At that point I felt like to tell her where she could put it..!..What about customer service ..? I have bought a lot of plants in this store not just orchids…so I took it anyway I left fuming and a lot disappointed with them. I’m sorry I didn’t turn around and go straight to find supervisor of sorts and put in a complaint...:(( :(( :(( :(( :(( :((

Home Depot
 

I really think that it depends on the HD and their supplier. On another forum I belong to, this has been discussed and the store uses a contractor to care for the plants. They are responsible for the condition of them and whether or not they are returned to the grower or discarded for credit. Dumpster diving is not allowed for a number of reasons: the store has liability if someone is injured while rescuing plants from the trash and there are some people who would take a discarded plant and try to return it. HD has a one year guarantee on all their plants and if you return something with their sticker on it but no receipt, they have to give you store credit. The dishonest have made it bad for those of us with good intentions. One of the Home Depots near me will actually mark some of their plants, including orchids, with a bright orange paint on the pot to indicate that it is an "as is" sale. I've picked up some wonderful specimens that they would normally have discarded simply because they were done blooming. It might help to talk to the plant department manager to see what the policy is. Lowe's will sometimes discount and other times send the plants back. Again, no dumpster diving. Besides, many of the plants being discarded are terribly stressed and occasionally diseased. I'd be a little reluctant to add an unknown, non-returnable plant to my healthy collection! Just what I have learned with respect to this issue.

-Lynn

While I agree with all above, you have to see this through a business "eye"...profit/loss. If they buy the plant at wholesale for $10 and their price point is 50%,i.e., sell at $20, then it is to their advantage to write off the loss against profit. It costs too much to hold on to a plant that they can only sell to a specicalized group like us orchid people....most non-orchid savvy people won't purchase what they aren't sure of. Stuff that is out of flower takes up "room" and requires attention from someone and this becomes costly. I see this all the time at my local garden center. They hold flowerless orchids for weeks and no one buys them. They get very little to no care and within weeks are whimped out and head for the dumpster. I used to be able to purchace these for $1 or $2 but somebody realized they were losing money so my sweet deal came to an abrupt halt! Yes, it is a real crime that any plant gets tossed in the name of profit, but that's business....

That's my understanding, BikerDoc. We have a local farm store that carries magnificent plants of all varieties and has a table in the back where they'll place some specimens out of flower at a reasonable price and those of us in the know can pick up a real treasure, although you may not know the color of the bloom for a year! I'm OK with that and find it to be a win-win situation. I know I can't return the plant and they at least have found someone who will take a chance on it. This store may actually purchase the plant outright and not have to deal with an outside contractor.

Sick...
 

Hello all... Just wanted to fill ya in on some things. I currently work for Home Depot, so know the way these things work. More so then often a grower will send us the orchids, whatever we sell we get profit for, whatever we don't we toss, it really makes no difference to the company since we dont pay for them. There for we will never mark them down and they will always be full price, I have tried to talk to people at my store about this, I just feel that if they arnt blooming that dosn't mean that no one will want them, if we mark them down someone will buy them. But like i said they don't belong to HD so they won't . I don't like this fact and don't understand why the growers will not take the plants back after they have lost all their flowers, Its just a sad thing.:dunno:

My local H.D. doesn't carry much in the way of plants and no orchids. Another large store does and the plant section person knows what she is doing and keeps them in pretty fair condition. They return the old ones to the supplier on a routine basis and bring in new stuff. The day they put out the new, is the best day to be there.

Maybe the grower doesn't want any plants back that might have been stressed or exposed to disease? The cost to rehabilitate a plant may be more than the cost of the plant itself! Wouldn't it benefit the store, the grower and those of us willing to take a chance on a plant knowing it is sold "as is" with no return/no refund? Then only the truly sick and dead plants would end up in the trash and eliminate the need for dumpster diving. Just the thought of that makes my stomach turn!

Home Depot destroyer
 

You would think some enlightened store manager would creat some positive PR by "donating" to Elderly Care homes, etc..:hmm
I wonder if Lowes also does this, next time I'm there...

I have found that the same store will change its policy form time to time. For instance, the local Lowe's will sometimes discount the plants and other times will refuse to sell them when done blooming. It may have something to do with the grower. I've also noticed that any new plants that arrive with broken flower stems won't be discounted but returned to the grower. Those probably don't need rehab. Of course, those are the ones I'd like to get at a discount! Too often, the staff at the big box stores don't know that you need to water orchids differently than a ficus, and you only find out after bringing your newest acquisition home that the roots are all rotted! Same with the local HD.

Well if they were done blooming and healthy, I would consider buying them with a reduced price, but I think a lot of large- chain stores kill the plants. I've seen lots of full- priced plants that are practically dead, and beyond saving! Nevertheless, its a shame that they don't find out how to take better care fo them!!

I'm with you. Such a waste!

I asked at our local Meijer store here, and they toss theirs after blooming also.:(( :(( Some of them are very nice orchids too, not just NOID Phals. :bua:

I shop at an English Gardens nearby and they mark their orchids down when flowering is over. Some of them are as much as $60.00 when flowering, but they mark them down a little at a time until they hit $4.99. If they don't sell at $4.99, they toss them.
Almost half of my orchids are from English Gardens, and $4.99 is the usual price. :dance: :dance13: :banana:

Yes! That's what I was referring to; mark them down and at least get something out of it, and the orchid lover can take over from there! All they'd have to do is post a sign that says all plants reduced for quick sale are not eligible for the 1 year guarantee! I'm sure there are people who would figure out a way to exploit it, though.

My local store is a Meijer also and it doesn't throw stuff away. It returns the plants to the supplier in SW Michigan (I am sure same supplier as for your store) so talk with your garden mgr ans see if this is correct and if they can change (if need be).

Suppose they should be jumping on the "Go Green" movement by now, eh???

Sad...

My local Lowe's sells them at a discounted price. I just bought one two months ago and now it has a spike! The regular price was $23.99. They sold it to me for $10. I also bought two violets for $1.50/each. For those of you who are unhappy with HD, give Lowe's a try. I like them much better anyway. Just make sure the roots look good. Some of the ones I saw looked like they could have root rot. But the one I bought looked really good. There were others... The only thing is that you don't know what color they are.... but that's kinda cool if you think about it... it adds a little suspense to our orchid adventure.

Hey Ross, how's it going?
Meijer stores must have different policies, because I did talk to the garden manager at my local store. He said it is store policy to toss them after blooming.
:(

It's the same here with HD & Lowe's. I think it depends on which way the wind is blowing and with whom they happen to have a contract to supply the orchids. I know HD used to use Grower Ron, but after the series of hurricanes a year and a half ago, much of their stock was destroyed. Most of the time, I don't know who the supplier is. And sometimes I don't think the people who care for the plants understand that different species have different needs! Even the best local nurseries don't always know what to do with the different orchids they carry, and treat them all the same. I'm talking about the northeast so can't speak about what happens in other parts of the country where the growing season is different.

Sad...
 

I got two little guys at English Gardens last week for 5 bucks, I can't wait till they bloom.


The problem with the HD, Lowes and other big chain stores is that they dont emply people who know about the flowers they sell. Most of the time they just water them. I know at HD we water them and I think once every two weeks someone from a "vendor" comes in and cleans the plants up ie. takes off brown leaves, dead flowers and gets rid of anything thats dead. Sometimes HD does get in orchids that are "ours" meaning that we get all credit for selling them, those ones they will mark down. Although as a customer you would not know what ones those happen to be. I don't know if down where the weather is nicer if they stock orchids all the time i know up here its only for special holidays. So the rules for stores in nicer climates might differ.

The HD in Stuart, FL ALWAYS has tons of orchids. When I'm down there visiting family, I never fail to visit the store....good orchids at great prices.....Lowe's not as good...not even close....wonder why???

Oh, how I miss Meijer, let me count the ways....Down where I am, Wal-Mart, Lowe's and HD almost always have at least Phals, though they seem to all be the big purple NOIDs. However the last time I went to Lowe's, I picked up a Brassia and a Bellarea(sp?) for half price, since they were half dead and finished with their bloom cycles.

A couple of years ago the HD and Lowe's used to have a fantastic selection of orchids. Now we get Phals, Dens, and once in a while Catts. When I spot something else, I try to get it, but check the plants over very carefully since many times they aren't all that healthy.

Actually I was just at the supplier for Meijers a few weeks ago (and I'm going back Thursday)... I'm not sure if they supply all the stores, or just a lot of them. Nice place though. Meijers buys all their plants outright, so it is up to the individual store to decide what they want to do with them. If they throw them away rather than discounting them, they are losing more money.

The way I understand it (and I could be wrong), some places (Home Depot and no doubt many others) do POS (no, not what you are thinking) 'Point of Scan' sales. The orchid wholesaler doesn't get paid until the plant is sold (scanned at the register). They have very little incentive to mark down the plants, since they aren't paying for them if they go out of flower, they can just throw them away and lose nothing.

Rob

We don't have Meijers here. Once in a while Sam's Club or the A&P will carry orchids. Sam's usually has large plants at great prices and they're gone in a flash! You just have to be in the right place at the right time, though. My local orchid society is having its spring show and sale on Saturday but I have to miss it due to a previous commitment! Oh well, there's always the one in fall.

Littlefrog you are correct... at my home depot thats what happens.... no profit till its sold, so to them its no biggie to toss them.

Feel free to call me blasphemous....

...but just because we think that orchids are "special" doesn't mean everyone should or does.

If I see a past-bloom, non-orchid at a store, my usual reaction is that "they should get that crap off the shelves", not "Oh, you poor baby. You should be rescued.".

It is the intention of most providers of mass-marketed orchids that they be sold, enjoyed, and then tossed, as if it was a cut flower.

Don't get down on the sellers for that. It's their choice.

I couldn't raise a calf to maturity then slaughter it, but I do like a good steak every now and then. I'm not going to put down the rancher for trying to make a living.

I suspect that any one of us, if we had acres of greenhouse and could give orchid-growing a "go" for a living, would ultimately discover that the dime-a-dozen hybrid phals might become a cash-flow tool. What would be good is if that allowed you to continue to grow the rarer and endangered species.

Excellent points, Ray. Many years ago I used to sell Avon products. When a customer told me that people were buying a particular product and then using it to get high (or something along those lines), I mentioned it to our district manager. The response was that after the product was sold, the customer could do whatever they wanted with it. As long as the seller makes their profit. And ultimately, that's the bottom line!

There will always be the people who will go to the pound and rescue a dog doomed to be put to death.....and others who won't own a dog unless it's a purebred that cost them big bucks.
Always two sides to every issue, I suppose. I guess I am a rescuer type. But I do understand your argument too. It's what makes life go round.

The retailers aren't the only ones who throw them out. I've been to commercial greenhouses that had HUGE compost piles of dead orchids. One can only assume that perhaps the cross wasn't to their liking and they didn't want those plants contributing to the collective gene pool. Whatever the reason wholesalers cull their stock as well.

I don't think the point was that they throw it away. The point was that they refused to sell it for even the slightest discount vs. throwing them out. It was full retail or in the bin they go.