What Does Home Depot Do With Leftover Plants?

Sure, Home Depot is known to run a plant sale or two, but what really happens to plants that don't get sold or when a new plant shipment comes in, but the older product is still taking up valuable space? Well, they're not put on clearance, they're not re-homed, they're not even turned into compost. They're just thrown away. Yep. Besides the obvious case for dead or diseased plants, the retailer can discard perfectly healthy plants if they aren't clearing the floor fast enough.

But before you go dumpster diving for plant deals, think again. Home Depot disposes of them in a closed-off trash compactor. Proplifting for free plants, (the process of taking fallen foliage or stems from the ground at garden centers to propagate new plants) is also majorly frowned upon. Even alleged employees in the houseplants Subreddit stated that they weren't allowed to take doomed plants — it's just part of the process. The items have to be tossed. However, what Home Depot is doing isn't unique. In fact, if you're upset with their policy, you'll be equally disappointed to hear that throwing away unsold plants is said to be a common occurrence across the garden center industry. Customers and employees say that other big names like Lowe's and Walmart are known to throw out unsold plants. However, they're considered to be more lenient when it comes to offering discounts or giving customers dying plants for free. 

So, why does Home Depot get rid of un-purchased plants? Why do some perfectly healthy perennials get tossed while others sit on marked-down shelves? Who decides which plants live and die? Well, it all comes down to the plant vendor's preferences and the store's policies. One Reddit user with knowledge of the process described how plants are provided by third party growers and sold via a "pay-by-scan" system, meaning the retailer doesn't have to pay the supplier until an item gets purchased. Therefore, it seems that Home Depot's policy is to throw them away instead of purchasing them and selling them at a discount. This way no money is lost. It could also be assumed that it's less of a hassle to chuck plants in the garbage then to determine sale prices. Individual stores may also be acting on corporate instructions or even those from the grower company as to what to do with leftover product.

According to one employee via Reddit, when Home Depot marks down plants, they're actually acting on behalf of the grower-slash-vendor's preferences and following instructions. The general consensus is that the retailer doesn't have the authority to mark down products on their own. But, know that purchasing sale plants can help the chain reduce waste and rescue plants before they meet their doom.  So the next time you see 50 percent off container arrangements, houseplants, or Knock Out roses, take it as a sign.