Why These Half-Dead Plants Are Actually Beneficial

I call it the Sad Plant Shelf (or SPS for short) and I race to it at every nursery I visit. This is where nursery workers send plants that don’t look as perfect as their potted counterparts. They put a discount sticker on them in the hope of getting rid of them quickly to make room for a new crop.

Most places don’t advertise the presence of this shelf, but the SPS isn’t hard to find if you know what to look for – it’s usually a rack of mismatched plants in the back corner of the store. . Ask a staff member if there is a plant cleaning stand and they will usually point you in the right direction.

Perennials at a discount – a great buy

The reason these plants are a good buy is because at least some of them will be perennials, which means it doesn’t matter if they’re out of stock this year. All plants are either annuals (they bloom that year, then die and don’t come back) or perennials (they come back annually or, like foxglove, once every two years). I very rarely buy annuals on sale, but this is a great place to pick up perennials that might look ugly now but will be back next year for up to 50% off.

Take, for example, the delphinium, whose seeds are notoriously difficult to germinate. They produce several tall, narrow stems. If one of these stems bends and bends, the plant goes to the discount shelf. but there is nothing strictly wrong with that. Cut it off and you may have a new flower this year; despite this, next year it will return in full, at which point you will have a biennial plant that will increase in value by 400%. That’s at best, but I threw some pretty sad looking clumps into the ground, and the next year I got some great echinacea or agastachi. I often feel that for a few dollars it’s worth taking a chance and seeing what happens in 12 months.

The closer you get to the end of the season, the fuller the SPS regiment becomes. In October in my nursery there is a whole greenhouse of them.

How to identify a good purchase on a shelf with a discount

So SPS tip number one: buy perennials. This is usually indicated somewhere on the label of the plant. In some cases, you won’t be able to tell what color the plant is because it doesn’t bloom, but you’ll find the name on the label to search on Google.

Plants may come back due to a lot of water, but you need to make sure the plant can still absorb water. If the soil seems too dry, take it to a fountain and see if the soil absorbs water. If not, the plant may be DNR.

Make sure there is some greenery on the plant. Again, a plant can be very, very sad, but it needs at least a green speck to be able to come back. Look for any bugs, such as thrips, or signs of illness, such as brown spots. These plants stay put – you don’t have to bring bugs or diseases into your garden.

I’m a little more partial to the plants in the larger stores because they come from different places and the staff often doesn’t have much gardening experience. So, I look much more at the plant itself. I would say the same about the grocery store, but I have honestly found the staff at the grocery nurseries around me to be very educated.

Also, never be afraid to ask for a big discount. I recently rescued five slightly crushed hydrangeas from my grocer. Although they were already 50% off, I asked for a big discount on a few pieces and got $4 each. Remember, plant people are compassionate and I just want them to get into a good home.

How to set up discount factories for success

The first thing you should do is give the plant a break – it has been in the sun without all the resources it needs, so bring it home, put it in the shade and give it a good drink of water, just enough to make sure the water runs off the bottom of the pot. Leave for at least twenty-four hours.

Then it’s time to either transplant it or plant it and see what condition it’s in. Sometimes the reason it doesn’t thrive is because it’s tied to the roots, which means it’s too big for the pot it’s in. When you take it out, use your hands to break up the roots a little. Study them. If they look healthy, you’re fine. If they are rotten, then you need to cut off the rotten part.

Give the plant a good top haircut so it doesn’t have to maintain so much greenery so it can focus all its energy on growing healthy roots next year. For example, the hosta can be cut to an inch or two. Shasta daisies can be cut down completely. Hydrangea flowers may die. Find your particular plant to find out how to prune it, but the point is to take some of the stress off the plant.

Place it in a hole three times the width and depth of the root ball, with nice and loose roots, and add some slow release fertilizer like Ozmacote to the hole. Make sure your new buddy gets enough water and a few words of encouragement, but remember, overwatering is just as problematic as not watering, so make sure he really needs it before watering him again.

Buying sad plants is a smart way to set up your garden that allows you to try plants you might not choose for full price. Remember, a small sacrifice now, in terms of plant appearance, can lead to big gains later.