I have a new addiction - the Lowes' garden center clearance rack. Most home and garden centers will drastically mark plants down as the planting season dwindles. Most of the plants are perfectly fine, the initial blooms have faded or they might have a broken stem or some browning on the leaves, but with a little TLC, you can have them looking like top shelf plants in no time. My most recent finds include: 3 gallon knock out roses for $10.00, hanging plants, blueberry bushes and various perennials for $5.00. Pampas grass, petunias, Mexican heather, seed geraniums and violas for 50 cents to a dollar.
Agreed, I've bought some perfectly good plants on clearance at the Walmart and Home Depot garden centers that just need a little TLC. It doesn't matter if the sale plants have a couple of brown leaves. You can trim those off. I've had some of my clearance plants for years and they're healthy.
Ha, ha! This is one of my favorite subjects! During the milkweed crisis I discovered a nursery that is very reasonable and I have been going back there every few weeks for more herbs as the butterfly eat the supply I keep for them. Yesterday I bought sweet basil for $20 and there must have been three dozen baby plants in the little square. I couldn't separate them all when I repotted it this morning so I'll have to keep separating them as the shoots get bigger (and I find more containers).
That's awesome. Basil grows like crazy so you're going to have a ton of basil. My basil seems to be recovering from whatever was eating it. Ever since I found that big, scary fat worm/caterpillar thing on the plant and threw it over the fence while screaming like a little girl, my basil is doing well and I've actually been able to use some of it.
I'm right there with you- some amazing steals can be found on clearance racks; a lot of the time nothing is 'wrong' with it at all, except that they want to make room for more stuff.
