Ugh! Damned Home Depot

Question:

FYI: My newreader (and other’s newsreaders, I’m sure) doesn’t support HTML, so I never see your messages. Could you post in straight text so we can all read them? -Blake (please send all replies via the newsgroup)

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Of course I didn’t go into Home Depot to buy orchids. Of course I went home with at least one. Of course they HAD to put them right at the front entrance, damned those marketing types. Of course they sell Phals, as everyone does. Of course they couldn’t stop there (of course). For crying out loud, they now have fantastic looking Cymbidiums, at least 3 feet tall, in 8 inch pots, for $33. They have small VANDAS for cripe’s sake, for $45. They have Onc., Den. you name it they have it. And they all look gorgeous. Oh yeah, they have BEAUTIFUL Catt. in bloom, but mostly just about to bloom. I was so peeved I tried to find the garden manager, but he had gone for the evening. I live in Baltimore, it’s freaking cold here. No one, except for wierdos like us with HID lights and green houses/rooms/whatever, would even have a shot at a Vanda. Maybe a Catt. with a good sunny window. Cym. ? I dunno, I don’t have any. Those plants don’t stand a chance, and I’m sure there are at least one or more poor suckers that will buy those Vandas at $45 only to have them die before they bloom out. I know, I know, they grow them by the millions in Asia and elsewhere, but the Vandas too? The Catts? I guess they do otherwise they wouldn’t be selling them at the Home Depot. Then it struck me – they have a 1 year warranty on any plant they sell. You could always have an orchid in bloom, even if you didn’t have the means to grow them, and only pay once. It just doesn’t seem ethically correct to sell things that they know don’t have a chance. At least to me it doesn’t seem right. BTW, I went home with a 6" inch potted Phal with 2 spikes with branches on both, and a Catt. "Dollie Ann" that has 5 buds on 3 spikes. $18 for both. Oh yeah, and the shelving that I went there for in the first place. Mike Hi Mike,

You’re lucky! They didn’t have the bearing puller that I went there for…but I still came home with orchids. Only…my friend Kim works there, which wouldbn’t be so bad by itself, but she says things like; "Just SNEAK ‘em in and hide ‘em behind the big ones." or my favorite…"How’s she gonna know?" I don’t know how she knows…I only know that I CAN’T sneak ‘em in, and I CAN’T hide ‘em in the back. I have more than five previous convictions for fellony possesion of orchids, and have just been busted again! But you’re right about one thing…they’re getting some neat orchids in lately. With all due criminal intent, "Connie" Before you buy.

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I agree with alot you all have said,and I work there!I’m a serious orchid addict,worked at Rod McLellan for two years,worked the shows,have at least 200 orchids,ect. I work and order the plants for ‘inside’ garden,and it’s hard throwing those plants away when they are out of bloom.I’m trying to get the management to let me set up a OOB table, 9.95 each.But as you know that one year replacement guarantee is a sticking point,I’ve thought of way to get around that…still working on it! A woman came into the store the other night wanting a refund on her dead Dracena[that she drowned!]with NO receipt and NO POT!!She even bought it at another Home Depot,but we refunded her the money['squeeky wheel' works folks!] From what I’ve observed at least 75 % of the folks that buy a orchid at HD don’t know anything at all about orchids,and about 50% of those don’t WANT to know!They want a pretty flower,period.I try my best to educate,but there is only so much time,that place gets busy! The company is going with consumer demand and disposable income[which is rampant here in the SF bayarea!] So,thanks for letting me get my rant out!! Kim

Response:

Here in So Cal, Thousand Oaks the HD team is down right cruel. They won’t sell any plants for less than the sticker price. they say they can return them to the supplier for a full refund. if that’s true why on earth do they leave them to die on the bench before sending them back? It’s not a pretty sight folks, and it can’t be a good recomendation for buying orchids either. sandra

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Of course I didn’t go into Home Depot to buy orchids. Of course I went home with at least one. Of course they HAD to put them right at the front entrance, damned those marketing types. Of course they sell Phals, as everyone does. Of course they couldn’t stop there (of course). For crying out loud, they now have fantastic looking Cymbidiums, at least 3 feet tall, in 8 inch pots, for $33. They have small VANDAS for cripe’s sake, for $45. They have Onc., Den. you name it they have it. And they all look gorgeous. Oh yeah, they have BEAUTIFUL Catt. in bloom, but mostly just about to bloom. I was so peeved I tried to find the garden manager, but he had gone for the evening. I live in Baltimore, it’s freaking cold here. No one, except for wierdos like us with HID lights and green houses/rooms/whatever, would even have a shot at a Vanda. Maybe a Catt. with a good sunny window. Cym. ? I dunno, I don’t have any. Those plants don’t stand a chance, and I’m sure there are at least one or more poor suckers that will buy those Vandas at $45 only to have them die before they bloom out. I know, I know, they grow them by the millions in Asia and elsewhere, but the Vandas too? The Catts? I guess they do otherwise they wouldn’t be selling them at the Home Depot. Then it struck me – they have a 1 year warranty on any plant they sell. You could always have an orchid in bloom, even if you didn’t have the means to grow them, and only pay once. It just doesn’t seem ethically correct to sell things that they know don’t have a chance. At least to me it doesn’t seem right. BTW, I went home with a 6" inch potted Phal with 2 spikes with branches on both, and a Catt. "Dollie Ann" that has 5 buds on 3 spikes. $18 for both. Oh yeah, and the shelving that I went there for in the first place. Mike

As a newbie, this is a very interesting read. I got a phal from HD last Thanksgiving and ( not knowing what I am doing then and now I repotted the plant from 4" to a 6" pot while in bloom. Well, it is still blooming. What did I do ? I also got similar sized phals almost a couple of months ago (from Trader Joe’s of all places). Of course, they were there right by the door. Yeah. So, I repotted those as well. They are still blooming. So, today, I got brave and got two huge cymbidiums from CostCo. Each plant has two flowering spikes and several bulbs. They are about three feet tall. Now what do I do? They are in 8" pots. For $21.00 each (same price as the 4" phals from HD), did I have a bargain? Thanks. /z. yeah, i went to Costco for papayas and mangos. ;-)

Response:

Thanks, but if that works, it must work for someone else, because I lost one I imported from Sea-Cloud Orchids in Key West. Looked beautiful there, lousy here, gave it to a local greenhouse before it gave up the ghost. I can grow them now, with my heated, humid, HPS lit room. No problem. You and I both know that the majority of people that buy those gorgeous things will have no idea of what to do with them.

True…a vast majority will buy the orchids, try to grow them, have them die, and give up on ever owning orchids again…others will try to figure out what they’ve done wrong, learn better cultural techniques, and go on to become rabid orchid addicts like us…the sword cuts both ways. So, while it may be harsh…those dead orchids are actually contributing to the lives of their fellows…I’ve probably finally reached a point where I’ve killed fewer orchids than the number I’ve kept alive and thriving over recent years….but that ratio has only begun to tip in my favor. And let’s not forget, aside from the occasional rare species one might find at a HD, most of these are artificial hybrids, and their loss (albeit tragic) does not really represent an ecological loss…only an economical one…the loss of the time and money spent raising the plant in a nursery somewhere. And even the rarely available species is most likely a line-bred plant, bred for what we consider to be more attractive flowers, yet most likely a plant that would not survive out in the wild…a mere facsimile of the original species in its native environs, unable to even reproduce since we’ve taken the flowers and grossly distorted them from the pollinator’s perspective. — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

Don’t do nuthin’. Just put ‘em in the living room and enjoy ‘em. Save repotting for this summer after the blooms are gone. Did you get a bargain? I’d have to say YES! I went to the Pacific Orchid Exposition this weekend…the city orchid society was beaking-up some HUGE cymbidiums and selling bare root, three bulb divisions for twenty bucks. Feel better now? Can you say…yawwchtting? "Connie" Before you buy.

Response:

Speaking of which, did anyone try to bargain with people at HD or K Mart over "dead" plants? Will they sell them to me if I ask or just ruthlessly disponse of them? If yes, how well do they recover if at all? Is it worth it getting plants in that condition for cheap (usually just dried out)? I saw it once at K Mart – a whole tray of badly looking phals without pots, apparently prepared for disposal, such a miserable picture. Vitaly

Oh man, you just don’t know. I went into a K-Mart before Valentine’s Day, and got two big Phals. One spike was broken and hanging off. Originally 9.99, I got it for 6.00. When I asked about getting the phal reduced the woman looked at me like I was nuts. What? No one’s gonna BUY this thing. It’ll just sit there until some other loose kid damages it more and then dries out and just gets thrown away! Arg. I also found it interesting that the pots they came in had no drainage holes. What’s up with that? And at HD, there was a "trash cart" just full of damaged-but-could-be-saved-unpotted-orchids. I was about to talk to the clerk when I was they were half-off. Whatever. You think someone’s gonna think "what a DEAL! I can save them all — and for HALF OFF!!". *sigh* All dead.

Response:

Buyer beware.

Response:

Maybe next week when the blooms are off of them and they’re suffering I’ll go in and try to give the guys $5 or 10 for the Vandas.

Response:

Vitaly, Our home depot up here in B.C., Canada usually will bargain for their reject plants. Some times they are not in too bad of shape, just out of flower. They don’t seem to have a standard policy on this though, it really depends who you talk to, and who is on shift. Judy

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Speaking of which, did anyone try to bargain with people at HD or K Mart over "dead" plants? Will they sell them to me if I ask or just ruthlessly disponse of them? If yes, how well do they recover if at all? Is it worth it getting plants in that condition for cheap (usually just dried out)? I saw it once at K Mart – a whole tray of badly looking phals without pots, apparently prepared for disposal, such a miserable picture. Vitaly — Please remove the underscore to email me

Response:

Of course both of you guys are correct – the plants aren’t being taken from the wild, and they are responsible for new orchid addicts – I’M ONE OF THEM. I don’t know whether to curse or thank Home Depot. Last night I cursed them, this morning I thanked them when I walked into the greenroom. I was just on a little rant last night. It must have been 40 degrees next to the door where they had the orchid displays. The pots were cold to the touch. Maybe next week when the blooms are off of them and they’re suffering I’ll go in and try to give the guys $5 or 10 for the Vandas. Mike

I know what you are saying about learning. I have done in my share of plants and I live in SW Florida. I find it interesting that some of the H. Depots down here sell plants that would be more appropriate a little farther north or will advise a buyer to put that nice pretty phal in a bright southfacing window so it gets plenty of light. We both know the results of that for a lot of plants not just phals. Some plants will thrive with that but a lot will not. I have lost count of the number of times that I have "corrected" their advice. The one truly good thing I can say for them is that they and their ilk are probably responsible for an unknown number of new orchid addicts. Scott

I was so peeved I tried to find the garden manager, but he had gone for

the – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – evening. I live in Baltimore, it’s freaking cold here. No one, except for wierdos like us with HID lights and green houses/rooms/whatever, would even have a shot at a Vanda. Maybe a Catt. with a good sunny window. Cym. ? I dunno, I don’t have any. Actually, it should be possible to grow Vandae even where you are…just stick ‘em in a warm, humid south window in winter (full sun) and stick ‘em outdoors in full sun in the summer…they should still be happy. Here in north FL, we have to give them some protection from sunlight during the noontime hours to keep them from burning their leaves. — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

Of course I didn’t go into Home Depot to buy orchids. Of course I went home with at least one. Of course they HAD to put them right at the front entrance, damned those marketing types. Of course they sell Phals, as everyone does. Of course they couldn’t stop there (of course). For crying out loud, they now have fantastic looking Cymbidiums, at least 3 feet tall, in 8 inch pots, for $33. They have small VANDAS for cripe’s sake, for $45. They have Onc., Den. you name it they have it. And they all look gorgeous. Oh yeah, they have BEAUTIFUL Catt. in bloom, but mostly just about to bloom. I was so peeved I tried to find the garden manager, but he had gone for the evening. I live in Baltimore, it’s freaking cold here. No one, except for wierdos like us with HID lights and green houses/rooms/whatever, would even have a shot at a Vanda. Maybe a Catt. with a good sunny window. Cym. ? I dunno, I don’t have any. Those plants don’t stand a chance, and I’m sure there are at least one or more poor suckers that will buy those Vandas at $45 only to have them die before they bloom out. I know, I know, they grow them by the millions in Asia and elsewhere, but the Vandas too? The Catts? I guess they do otherwise they wouldn’t be selling them at the Home Depot. Then it struck me – they have a 1 year warranty on any plant they sell. You could always have an orchid in bloom, even if you didn’t have the means to grow them, and only pay once. It just doesn’t seem ethically correct to sell things that they know don’t have a chance. At least to me it doesn’t seem right. BTW, I went home with a 6" inch potted Phal with 2 spikes with branches on both, and a Catt. "Dollie Ann" that has 5 buds on 3 spikes. $18 for both. Oh yeah, and the shelving that I went there for in the first place. Mike

Response:

Remember that there is a whole industry that grows plants for the windowsill market. Most people who buy the orchids (as well as azaleas, mums, tulips, poinsettias etc.) buy them for the bloom. When they are done blooming they really don’t expect them to bloom again. A cut dozen of Roses costs approx $30 this time of the year and lasts a week. A large Phal in bloom costs $18 at HD and last 3-5 months. It’s a great deal. A serious orchid collector may find a real gem among the plants at HD but for the most part I think many of the cast offs from serious growers go to this market. If its not an award contender they have to do something with the plant. Why not sell them to the general public who can’t tell a nice plant from an award winner. The general public is paying to keep the serious grower’s costs down. They buy the average stuff which pays the bills for the grower and the good stuff is cheaper for us. What a great world we live in. Gene

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was so peeved I tried to find the garden manager, but he had gone for the evening. I live in Baltimore, it’s freaking cold here. No one, except for wierdos like us with HID lights and green houses/rooms/whatever, would even have a shot at a Vanda. Maybe a Catt. with a good sunny window. Cym. ? I dunno, I don’t have any. Actually, it should be possible to grow Vandae even where you are…just stick ‘em in a warm, humid south window in winter (full sun) and stick ‘em outdoors in full sun in the summer…they should still be happy. Here in north FL, we have to give them some protection from sunlight during the noontime hours to keep them from burning their leaves. — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

Understand what you are saying no doubt. Just for fun, the next time you are there (or make a special trip) ask the garden manager what his/her qualifications/education/certifications are for horticulture and then ask how much input/ control they have over what the "Home Office" sends them without asking first. Remember that they only care about the bottom line and nothing else…

Actually, the manager of the garden center in HD’s has quite a bit of autonomy in determining what they buy…they call the suppliers directly (like K&B, or Sun Bulb, etc.) and order them directly from them. I’ve actually spoken with the g.c. manager at our local HD and tried to steer him toward better orchid cultural practices and towards plants that would actually fare well in our climate…and he listened…a few weeks after I recommended that he try to bring in some Vanda’s, what do I see? a box full of in-bud Vandas…too bad money was low or I might’ve taken a "blue" off his hands promptly. — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

I was so peeved I tried to find the garden manager, but he had gone for the evening. I live in Baltimore, it’s freaking cold here. No one, except for wierdos like us with HID lights and green houses/rooms/whatever, would even have a shot at a Vanda. Maybe a Catt. with a good sunny window. Cym. ? I dunno, I don’t have any.

Actually, it should be possible to grow Vandae even where you are…just stick ‘em in a warm, humid south window in winter (full sun) and stick ‘em outdoors in full sun in the summer…they should still be happy. Here in north FL, we have to give them some protection from sunlight during the noontime hours to keep them from burning their leaves. — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

I think maybe we ought to take any advice from folks at HD, Kmart, Lowes, or wherever with a grain of salt. just because they work there doesnt mean they know a doggone thing about what they are selling! <G my spouse once managed to kill an entire lawn because he took the advice of someone at HD. I’m not saying there arent some folks who know a bit and are helpful–but it just isnt the same as the old-time fellas at the nursery or hardware store who could give you good info. as for feeding the orchid addiction…heh! I went into Kmart yesterday to buy a new plastic garbage pail and had to shield my eyes from the sight of phals stuck up in the direct sun in the windows…I got my garbage pail and got the heck out of there! Alynne South Fla. Zone 10 No husband was ever shot while doing the dishes!

Response:

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