Friday, November 18, 2011

Visiting a Big Box in the Desert

As I previously mentioned I made it a goal to visit a couple of the Big Box stores (Home Depot, Lowes) while on our Desert SW vacation. I’ll admit I’m biased, I’d much rather shop at an independent nursery anytime, one of the reasons…selection. You can find the occasional interesting (and even healthy) plant at one of these box stores, but when you want something beyond the petunia, ivy and arborvitae set you need to head to an actual nursery, not a store with toilets and lumber. And this is exactly why I wanted to visit one of these stores, what would the selection be like here, in the desert? Amazing inexpensive succulents? Or the local equivalent of petunias, whatever that might be? Oh look…it turns out to be petunias! (and mums) Unfortunately I was only able to visit one, a Home Depot in Tucson. There were plenty (and I do mean plenty!) of others along our travels but we just didn’t have the time to stop (who makes it a priority to visit a Home Depot on their vacation anyway? Yes…I am odd!). When you entered the actual nursery section (not the outside tables, those had a lot of flowering annuals along with a few succulents, pictured above) the first plants you encountered were succulents. I was surprised to see they sell mixed containers like this here, I thought they were reserved for us wanna-be’s up north (or wherever you can’t actually grow cactus in the ground) Huge Agave (americana?) for $49.98 Other cactus... These were signed as ‘desert landscape premium mix’ (1 gallon for $6.57) And these 10” specimens were $23.90 Bare-root Ocotillio, $29.93 What a pristine Opuntia! Agave potatorum 10” (container) Barrel cactus, $39.97 This box of succulent road kill was tucked under one of the tables. What do you think is going on here? They are saving them (rather unceremoniously) for what? Colorful succulents, $5.48 Manihot! Love them and I was afraid to look at the price for fear I would want to bring one home with me… Agave geminiflora… …and Dasylirion wheeleri, 5 gallons for only $14.97! Agave weberii, $19.97… so beautiful! I thought this was an interesting merchandising choice. Who uses Miracle-Gro on their agaves? Anybody? Noble Aeonium With an informative label! If I lived here I would definitely be growing Bougainvillea ($5.98) And Oleander too! ($4.97) In the back of the nursery department they had a selection of fruit trees and other edibles, including Nopales! Gorgeous Figs And Loquats… So there you have it, my visit to the big box store in the desert. There were a lot of plants that my eyes just skipped over like they do in these types of stores here in Portland. However there were a lot of plants that had me snapping pictures and wishing I could take them home. I wonder if the things that I found exciting were only such because I don’t live in the desert? Would the independent nursery riches of this area spoil me eventually? I suspect this is the case. Plus, I would much rather spend my plant dollar(s) supporting the local guys whenever possible!

19 comments:

  1. I swear our Home Depot only carries arborvitae and ugly perennials. Like you, I'm sort of thinking this is a good thing.

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  2. Interesting! Tucson's big box looks like it has some potential for staple plants for there, more than other places I have seen.

    Our big box stores do carry a few appropriate plants in the spring, that most indy nurseries here do not, since some *still* listen to edicts of a few who ass-ume certain plants "aren't hardy". Here, big boxes sell a mix of Alabama plants, Minnesota plants, and Phoenix plants - with another 1/3 that will actually like it here on minimal water.

    Plus the usual mums, annuals, petunias, etc. Yawn...

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  3. Now I want to go down there and look around. It looked there were a few things I could add to the Death Valley Shack.

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  4. Instead of stocking Miracle-Grow on the rack above the agaves, they might consider stylish eye wear and designer bandages for protection against the demons that live in the plants below! I find the selection at the big box leads to creative thinking. Use the imagination and cool things can happen!

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  5. Yes, you are odd...and we love you for it. If I had missed the headline, I would have thought you were taking pictures in a full-on nursery.
    I tried to grow Oleander (seem to be drawn to all things poisonous) but it kicked the bucket its first winter, and it wasn't even one of the recent harsh ones.

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  6. I'll admit, I've occasionally purchased a plant here and there at the Lowe's near us…although I do feel a bit guilty each time! I do remember last year (or the year before) when I was looking for Echinacea, however, that the box stores were the only ones carrying regular ones, while the nurseries I usually shopped at only had the newer hybrids, of which I'm not a fan. Much as it pained me…Lowes got my money that day.

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  7. I've been known to buy a bargain at a big box. I agree that I like to patronize the independents, but when I have to go to Lowe's for something boring, I make it a point to combine business with pleasure and visit the plant section. You just never know what you'll find, but the pickings are clearly more exotic the warmer the climate...

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  8. This might sound odd, but -- how interesting to go somewhere where our weird and wonderful is their common and ordinary. I think I might be tempted to go to a big box store there too, for the same reasons as you.

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  9. You had me at the prickly pear, and now I want prickly pear sorbet at 11:30pm in Portland, OR a week before Thanksgiving. Lucky for me I can probably arrange this by Christmas. (Just remembered there is a liquor from Sicily I want to find made from prickly pear too. Must try before I die.)

    As for your big box it reminds me of shopping in SoCal between Los Angeles and San Diego. The nurseries I found blew Mr B and I away. I felt kind of Looney Tooney walking around such a foreign landscape. Oh it must have been so hard to resist some of those deals...

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  10. I also regularly check the plant table inside. I've picked up aloe ferox babies, a 'joseph's coat' opuntia and various other plants for under 3.00. (They are not always labeled - I check the labels on the larger plant offerings and often find the same plant nicely identified.)

    You have to be willing to grow them on to mature size, but for me - that's the whole point in gardening. Watching my plants grow!

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  11. To Ricki:

    Don't feel too bad about your oleander. There is a virus that is wiping them out (slowly) in the Phoenix area. You may not have started with a healthy plant.

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  12. I've had similar thoughts while checking out the garden section of the local big box.

    We don't need to buy agaves or cactus from the nursery though. I get most of mine from a guy on craigslist who picks them off the curb on trash day.

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  13. I expect desert folk who come to Portland and visit the local Home Cheap-o are blown away by the conifers and Rhodies..That airplane thing sure interferes with the plant buying.

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  14. Entertaining post! I found myself at a home depot like box store in Mexico on last years vacation. Yes I prefer independents but it's always worth a peak. A friend of mine uses miracle grow for his cactis and so far no problem, things look pretty good. I wish cacti were more abundant up here, but it's probably a good thing they aren't or I'd have about 1000 more plants this season.

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  15. Heather, back in my Phormium loving days I picked up a few sizable plants at Home Depot. Then there was my Chocolate Mimosa Tree "accident" this summer. Every once and awhile I do find something good there, but I always feel a little guilty to.

    DD, Alabama plants, Minnesota plants, and Phoenix plants! Wow that sounds rather dismal (except for the Phoenix plants part, but then I've been known to work a little to get a plant to live where it shouldn't).

    Beech Street, let me know when you go...maybe a little gas money can rent some space in your van? :)

    compost, that is a great idea! I love it.

    ricki, I had one in my cart at the Cistus parking lot sale...(cheap!), I was ready to give it a try, then another shopper talked me out of it with tales of his personal experience. It's rare I listen to someone in those situations!

    scott, as long as we do most of our plant shopping locally we shouldn't feel too guilty right? I mean they are employing people (rationalization!)

    MulchMaid, well put! "Business with pleasure," me too.

    Alison, I wish I would have been able to stop at a couple others to compare.

    Ann, it was! But then the shipping thing kind of cooled my desire. I think I've had prickly pear sorbet before...but I can't for the life of me remember where!

    Jenn, I still remember when I first found your blog and you seemed down right depressed about gardening in the desert. Reading this makes me happy, it sounds like you are indeed finding some pleasures there!

    Shirley, this kills me!!! Do you read the blog Far Out Flora? They are regularly ripping out agaves or boxes full of aeoniums and just leaving them on the curb for people to take...HEAVEN!

    ks, very good point!

    Nat, you and me both! And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with a nursery voyeurism issue.

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  16. Well your big box certainly has more low water appropriate plants than our one and only nursery! I actually picked up some succulents at Lowe's in Sonoma in October and they were a great bargain.

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  17. I think they really do try. However, they clearly care more about stocking the most ubiquitous things for "landscapers" as opposed to the more unique for gardeners.

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  18. Living in the Sacramento valley we do have independent nurseries of course but I find that there succulent selection is sparse and usually very expensive. Being on a limited income but still wanting to satisfy my passion for succulents I quite often go to Home Depot or Lowe's for my pretties. They don't have as many of the larger ones like in your post but sometimes I do get lucky. Boy I would have gone bat crazy in the one your visited!

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  19. At a recent cactus/succulent show, I happened to talk to a renowned exhibitor, a guy who had his name engraved multiple times on many of the trophies up on the head table, and he said Miracle Gro was exactly and only what he has used, and for decades!

    At first I thought he was joking. He wasn't. Boy was I surprised!

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