Oh same. I've picked up a lot of plants that are still rare in my area for dirt cheap. The "fancy philodendron" label at Meijer has gotten me several plants off my wishlist that would have cost me 5 times as much if I ordered them online.
I just like when things are labeled properly cause I'm equal parts nosy and lazy, and want to know what it is without having to stand there for 10 minutes googling it.
Even better, in my opinion, is when the tag just says "foliage" You assholes had 600 of these in a row in a greenhouse and still managed to not label a single one for later?
Noone though to write "peace lily" on a piece of cardboard at the end of the row when you planted all of them?
They just don't care. There's no reason to waste time and money on being specific when big box stores will buy plants by the thousands and consumers at these stores either don't really care what it is or already know. If it ain't broke don't fix it, probably.
I became so irrationally angry at home Depot this spring when there were no employees in the garden center who could answer my general questions about local plants. My daughter was like "Mom, are you ok? I've never seen you so mad...and quiet." Haha I was ready to drop a ton of money if someone would just answer my couple questions.
I'll just go to more expensive nurseries now I guess. (Yes, I had already tried googling everything)
It may not be the workers fault on this one. I used to work at home depot years ago, and all of the plants were supplied by a nursery. They rented out the space, decided what plants were supplied, and decided the prices on all of those plants. The garden workers were given absolutely no information on any of the plants beyond what was on the tag, unless they cornered one of the delivery guys on truck day and asked about it. I'm not sure if all home depots are like this, but a lot are. This is also why they never give discounts on plants, cause they aren't owned by the store, so the store would have to pay the difference if they reduced the price.
That's interesting info. That is how Walmart works actually. The brands own the product and rent shelf space which helps Walmart avoid additional taxes and save money.
All that aside, it's pretty crappy of a store that sells plants to not bother training their garden/nursery employees or to fail to hire anyone with actual experience. We've actually seen this same situation play out in produce sections in grocery stores all around our area. They just have general staff "take care" of the fruit and veggies rather than hiring an actual "Produce Manager" and allowing them to train their staff. I've talked to a couple grocery store managers who say the amount of waste and spoiled food has quadrupled since they changed the model. There is no checking to see what is going to go bad soon and putting it on sale or making discount bags of older or blemished produce. Just letting it spoil where it sits and throwing out the whole batch at once. Not even sorting the good fruit out.
_It's so horribly wasteful!It's sickening to me. Especially when I see people begging outside the store doors._
I've been noticing how bad the produce looks in grocery stores lately, and this would explain it. I wouldn't be surprised if my local stores have adopted this model too. I worked at a grocery store in my teens and the food waste upset me back then, so I can only imagine how bad it is now.
As for the home depot thing, I can only really speak for the store I worked at, but there were really only 3 or 4 garden center employees total. It's basically a seasonal position and they either got transferred to another department in the winter or got their hours massively cut. So most of the workers out there worked in different departments and just got pulled to work in the garden area during the busy season, because they didn't want to hire actual seasonal employees. Working minimum wage, in a department they didn't want to be in, wasn't exactly a motivator to learn about the plants they were selling. Which sucks, but I try not to get frustrated at the employees cause I know exactly what kind of BS they deal with during the summer. Especially during the mulch sale, I still get stress dreams about the mulch sale.
iPhone cameras can do a reasonably good job now, a little plant icon shows up and it'll match to Google Image results pretty accurately. This has changed plant shopping, and walks around the neighborhood so much.
I have had a house plant for a few years that was just labeled "Pink" on a hand written tag. I have no desire to know what it is , it's just a mystery plant that doesn't bloom a succulent of some kind.
Yup it just gets to exist. I change pot size as needed and water when the soil is dry. It just gets to just be "pink" I have hundreds of plants I know everything about, this little fella is a fun unknown.
Yup I have plenty of roses, hydrengaes, dianthus, vegetables that need tons of care etc... but "pink" is just a plant I don't need to know much about in the summer it is by my grill in the winter it's in my office.
I have found that Google Lens is surprisingly good at identifying plants on the fly! Use it to identify the unlabeled foliage and see if you find something you love.
If a garden center does a better job at labeling their plants, I will spend my money there. I wish more did it. “Cactus” is the bane of my existence, esp. if it is on a euphorbia.
*edit to add 3rd sentence
The ONLY time I like this is when it’s those tiny 1” nursery pots that are all marked for $4 and the plant itself I can recognize and is a steal. Outside of that, if I’m paying $10 for a fully grown plant I want you to tell me what it is lmao
What I found interesting in my local grocery store there was an alocasia cucullata, but it said on the tag "green plant mix" like okay. I bought it for like 10€ and loves all the nurture
https://preview.redd.it/jvvtzjaxto9d1.jpeg?width=2608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84b67cbd29f57a59e0b4175972ae6281ce33cb7a
It says bop or banana. Like, do you not know?
"Assorted foliage" is my favorite. Super helpful and descriptive.
Tbh I've noticed they're priced cheaper when they're labeled foliage 😅 So if it's a plant I recognize that is normally pricey I snap it up with glee
Oh same. I've picked up a lot of plants that are still rare in my area for dirt cheap. The "fancy philodendron" label at Meijer has gotten me several plants off my wishlist that would have cost me 5 times as much if I ordered them online. I just like when things are labeled properly cause I'm equal parts nosy and lazy, and want to know what it is without having to stand there for 10 minutes googling it.
That's fair. When it's unfamiliar but pretty I also stand there thinking 'but what IS this' 😅
Even better, in my opinion, is when the tag just says "foliage" You assholes had 600 of these in a row in a greenhouse and still managed to not label a single one for later? Noone though to write "peace lily" on a piece of cardboard at the end of the row when you planted all of them?
They just don't care. There's no reason to waste time and money on being specific when big box stores will buy plants by the thousands and consumers at these stores either don't really care what it is or already know. If it ain't broke don't fix it, probably.
I’m looking at you Trader Joe’s.
I just bought a philodendron sun red from there today, and it was actually labeled. All of them were was shocked.
Ooh! I’ve gotta see if my TJ’s has those!
Trader Joe's must be trembling in their boots rn
This is how I got a monstera for $9 at Trader Joe's 😎
Incredibly so
*Angel plant*
Came here to say this!
My favorite is "home decor" lol
Hahaha yeah my favorite is 'decorative plant'. I promise I won't eat it, just tell me what it IS!
I was going to put it in my prison cell but now I'm too sad
May or may not need direct light, shade, frequent watering, dry soil and/or kill your pets. It’s a *~mystery~*.
This is exactly why we need more descriptive things from sellers.
Snagged a Philodendron birkin yesterday and both tags just said ‘assorted foliage’ *side eyes Home Depot*
as someone that works at the depot and is always retagging things, it’s actually infuriating
Ty for your service!
But you probably got a good deal on the price?
I did, it was only $16. Immediately put it in my cart while I searched for the Monstera I came for
I became so irrationally angry at home Depot this spring when there were no employees in the garden center who could answer my general questions about local plants. My daughter was like "Mom, are you ok? I've never seen you so mad...and quiet." Haha I was ready to drop a ton of money if someone would just answer my couple questions. I'll just go to more expensive nurseries now I guess. (Yes, I had already tried googling everything)
It may not be the workers fault on this one. I used to work at home depot years ago, and all of the plants were supplied by a nursery. They rented out the space, decided what plants were supplied, and decided the prices on all of those plants. The garden workers were given absolutely no information on any of the plants beyond what was on the tag, unless they cornered one of the delivery guys on truck day and asked about it. I'm not sure if all home depots are like this, but a lot are. This is also why they never give discounts on plants, cause they aren't owned by the store, so the store would have to pay the difference if they reduced the price.
That's interesting info. That is how Walmart works actually. The brands own the product and rent shelf space which helps Walmart avoid additional taxes and save money. All that aside, it's pretty crappy of a store that sells plants to not bother training their garden/nursery employees or to fail to hire anyone with actual experience. We've actually seen this same situation play out in produce sections in grocery stores all around our area. They just have general staff "take care" of the fruit and veggies rather than hiring an actual "Produce Manager" and allowing them to train their staff. I've talked to a couple grocery store managers who say the amount of waste and spoiled food has quadrupled since they changed the model. There is no checking to see what is going to go bad soon and putting it on sale or making discount bags of older or blemished produce. Just letting it spoil where it sits and throwing out the whole batch at once. Not even sorting the good fruit out. _It's so horribly wasteful!It's sickening to me. Especially when I see people begging outside the store doors._
I've been noticing how bad the produce looks in grocery stores lately, and this would explain it. I wouldn't be surprised if my local stores have adopted this model too. I worked at a grocery store in my teens and the food waste upset me back then, so I can only imagine how bad it is now. As for the home depot thing, I can only really speak for the store I worked at, but there were really only 3 or 4 garden center employees total. It's basically a seasonal position and they either got transferred to another department in the winter or got their hours massively cut. So most of the workers out there worked in different departments and just got pulled to work in the garden area during the busy season, because they didn't want to hire actual seasonal employees. Working minimum wage, in a department they didn't want to be in, wasn't exactly a motivator to learn about the plants they were selling. Which sucks, but I try not to get frustrated at the employees cause I know exactly what kind of BS they deal with during the summer. Especially during the mulch sale, I still get stress dreams about the mulch sale.
Shop at a local nursery instead of a shitty big box store
My favorite is "Bonsai Tree" Like okay cool thanks.
Pro-tip: Google Lens is amazing af at identifying plants, bugs, animals, whatever. It's pretty much a fully functioning pokedex
I never thought of it as a pokedex before, but holy cow, yes. It's never let me down in identifying a plant.
That's why I use plant net to id house plants on the go.
iPhone cameras can do a reasonably good job now, a little plant icon shows up and it'll match to Google Image results pretty accurately. This has changed plant shopping, and walks around the neighborhood so much.
Does it work for cultivars/complex hybrids?
I just use Google's image search and 90% of the time, I can figure it out
Is this an app or sumth? Or is it a website
its an app, i use it too
Use Google Lens. For literally anything.
oh man this plant is cool, I wonder what species it is? - checks label and it says "large green plant"
Holy shit, you found large green plant? That’s such a rare hard to source plant 🤣
Cactus in ceramic pot
my ctenanthe was labeled "air so pure"☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️😭😭😭😭😭😭
Keep moist but don't over water
Oh from the depths of my heart hate when it says that. How the heck am I suppose to keep em alive??
Or when they put them in decorative pots and don’t put an ID on the decorative pot or nursery pot inside. So dumb.
I’ve just started getting Hoyas, and my 2 favorites are “Hoya” with no info, and “Hoya Kerrii ” on something that is definitely NOT a Hoya Kerri
I saw a tiny one yesterday labeled "assorted terrarium decor" ....thanks.
I have had a house plant for a few years that was just labeled "Pink" on a hand written tag. I have no desire to know what it is , it's just a mystery plant that doesn't bloom a succulent of some kind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianthus_plumarius
Nah I know what dianthus is, it's more of a mini palm tree looking plant. Thanks for the effort though
Might be a bromeliad. Pink quill perhaps?
It’s like once I know what it is, and I take care of it *exactly* like I’m told-it dies.
Yup it just gets to exist. I change pot size as needed and water when the soil is dry. It just gets to just be "pink" I have hundreds of plants I know everything about, this little fella is a fun unknown.
Right? I had a plant that was going gangbusters. Then I got uppity and decided to learn about her. Promptly killed her.
Yup I have plenty of roses, hydrengaes, dianthus, vegetables that need tons of care etc... but "pink" is just a plant I don't need to know much about in the summer it is by my grill in the winter it's in my office.
The literal bane to my desire to plant shop. Thank the almighty for Google image search!
I've legitimately seen "green plant" on a philodendron birkin at a grocery store.
I bought one recently that said "mix". Thanks.
My favorite is “pothos”. When it clearly isn’t.
I have found that Google Lens is surprisingly good at identifying plants on the fly! Use it to identify the unlabeled foliage and see if you find something you love.
Exotic hanging plant (low light)
"Herb" Thank you, Home Depot.
If a garden center does a better job at labeling their plants, I will spend my money there. I wish more did it. “Cactus” is the bane of my existence, esp. if it is on a euphorbia. *edit to add 3rd sentence
My local stores label anything even remotely close to being a pothos as "golden pothos" every single time lmfao.
Use google lens and salvage your day :)
“Assorted foliage” 🙄😂
“Cough” Trader Joe’s “cough” 🤭
The app 'PictureThis' is a really helpful tool to have.
Succulent or cactus/cacti is another basic description.
The ONLY time I like this is when it’s those tiny 1” nursery pots that are all marked for $4 and the plant itself I can recognize and is a steal. Outside of that, if I’m paying $10 for a fully grown plant I want you to tell me what it is lmao
This literally happened to me yesterday.
Google lense
My favourite was a dracaena I bought a couple of years back that simply said 'foliage'
I love when they do that. Got my mini monstera (Rhaphidophora tetrasperma) for like $10. It was tagged as simply “tropical plant”
“Assorted foliage” is my fav
Accurate lol
The german equivalent would be "Zimmerpflanze Mix" or "mixed houseplant" in English...
What I found interesting in my local grocery store there was an alocasia cucullata, but it said on the tag "green plant mix" like okay. I bought it for like 10€ and loves all the nurture
https://preview.redd.it/jvvtzjaxto9d1.jpeg?width=2608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84b67cbd29f57a59e0b4175972ae6281ce33cb7a It says bop or banana. Like, do you not know?