As if you really need any more reasons to buy local.
Holiday plants can make great gifts, but only if they are healthy. I went to Home Depot yesterday to check out their supply of holiday plants. Look what I found.
About 90 percent of their holiday flowers were already mostly dead.
Who would buy that? They also had some washed-out looking Poinsettias and some Christmas cacti with dead blossoms.
They also had some Bromeliads, but I don’t find them particularly festive.
No self-respecting local nursery would mistreat their plants the way the big box stores do. That’s because employees who work at nurseries actually care about plants.
I often find dead or dying plants at places like Home Depot and Lowe’s. But even I’m surprised by the number of already dead holiday plants – didn’t they just arrive?
If you live in the Albuquerque area, consider visiting a local nursery for gift ideas. I went to Jericho Nursery on 2nd and Alameda.
They not only have lots of beautiful Poinsettias, but they also created mini-Poinsettias that they put in self-watering containers.
Pretty cute, eh? I think these would make wonderful gifts for coworkers or neighbors. They are inexpensive, and all you have to do is make sure there’s water in the container. The plant waters itself. That makes it a no-fuss gift.
They also had some gorgeous Christmas cacti.
Gorgeous! See how the buds aren’t open yet? That’s when you want to buy a Christmas cactus. If you buy them when the blossoms are already fully open, they will fall off rapidly (maybe even before you get the plant home). Also, you get a lot more longevity if the buds aren’t open.
Holiday plants can make great gifts as well centerpieces for your dining room table. I was planning on showcasing some nice centerpieces, but as it turns out, I’m posting this from an airport (my first ever airport post) so I’m going to have to cut it short.
Before I go, here’s one more reminder to shop your local nurseries instead of the big box stores. There were lots of dead plants at Home Depot.
Plant murderers.
Good To Grow 
6 comments
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November 25, 2009 at 2:33 am
WaterRoots
I totally agree. The big box stores don’t care for their plants because they sell too many different things at the same time. A lot of quantity; not enough quality. And the staff responsible for the plant section is not experienced in plant care, so the plants waste away. It’s really a shame.
January 7, 2010 at 3:11 pm
[Thursday - Plants 101] Safe Alternatives to Toxic Pesticides, Part 2 of 2 « Good To Grow
[…] I stopped by a different local nursery, Jericho Nursery, which some of you may remember from my post about holiday plant gifts. […]
April 30, 2011 at 8:20 pm
trey
Excellent post. We need to get the word our to people there is an alternative to the corporate mind set, and lack of quality prevalent at the box stores. Support your locally owned, quality garden center.
May 1, 2011 at 1:54 am
Teresa
Just my first visit here and as a IGC owner, I wanted to thank you for promoting IGCs!
May 4, 2011 at 2:34 am
goodtogrow
Thanks Teresa, for stopping by! I appreciate you saying hello!
May 1, 2011 at 5:06 am
goodtogrow
Hey, thank you Trey, for visiting my site and for your sentiments!