WooHoo.. Its nice to have Connections..

I was at the local market picking up cake and ice cream for my sons bday. I can't pass up the floral dept anywhere.. I bought myself a beautiful cyclamen, and made friends with the employee in charge of the floral dept. I was telling her about my addiction and so forth. She asked me questions on how to properly care for some of the plants.. I shared what knowledge I do have and apparently she was impressed. - I picked up a basket that had two plants in it, one a golden pothos and what I think is a Hoya.. she said that it has been dropping leaves since it starting getting cold (and her dept is near the doors)... I told her I'm not sure but it might be Hoya... she told me if I would take it home and care for it she would sell me the basket with both plants for 99 cents.. I took it..

We exchanged names and numbers.. She sd that often when plants don't sell or they decline and no one buys them (and she really don't know what to do to save them) she will call me and I can have them for 99 cents or $1.99. She also told me to stop by about once a week or so, or she will call me. I'm so EXCITED.

Here is my new Cyclamen...

Tracey, That Cyclamen is really pretty! I love Cyclamen but have never been able to keep one alive for very long ... a month at the most if I'm lucky! We usually see them for sale in the garden centers here around the holidays so I usually buy one or two for short term enjoyment!

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2508/

Lin, I did some research on Cyclamen.. It looks like it takes some extra "work" to keep it alive. We'll see just how well I do with it.. It may very well die but like you, I will just enjoy it for the season.

I'm wondering if it is an indoor potted plant and goes dormant, why do you have to repot the tubers each season? Is it to accomodate a probable larger plant when it makes its return.

This message was edited Dec 13, 2009 8:42 AM

Daisylovin, I went to a grocery store yesterday and gave a girl there my number. She was marking plants down to 99cents
I am going by there Friday and she is going to mark some down for me. So glad I saw your thread.

Glad I could help ridesredmule.. Let me know what kind of prizes you get.. : )

I sure will. The ther day I got a Desert Rose Kalanchoe, and then
a dish garden that hd another Kalancho plus a palm and a Ivy.
Going back again Friday.

Nice!! I'll be stopping by to check on my "treasure chest" tomorrow afternoon.

That's wonderful for you but a lot of stores would definitely not do that. Something about what doesn't sell, they recoop their losses from the vendors but more than likely employees take them home. :)

Speaking of Desert Rose, Wal-Mart had some large ones the other day-really cool looking.

Susan

I have similar connections at my local Shoprite (where I work) and my local Lowes. Whenever something is looking crappy I get it 90% off. I've gotten cyclamen for a quarter, tolumnia orchids for 60 cents, phals for four dollars, etc. It really pays to be friendly to people and share your knowledge because you never know. Most local supermarkets and Lowes BUY their plant from the supplier, thus once they decline they get reduced and nothing then - trashed. So they are happy to make any sort of profit on a plant that is in "decline" (I say decline loosely because it can be something as simple as an orchid that has dropped it's flowers).

Now I've tried to establish a similar connection at a local Home Depot and Trader Joe's. Their plants are "loaned" (for lack of a better term) for the store to sell but owned by a third party. When something doesn't sell or dies they get a full refund from the supplier. Thus why you rarely see things marked down at these kind of stores.

Though in the end, you never know without asking. You might just be able to score some new plants at dirt cheap prices.