Whenever you visit a houseplant community online nowadays, you’ll find numerous posts about individuals boasting their latest rare plant find from big retail stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s. These same forums are also inundated with pictures of neglected plants from these retailers, often with calls for fellow members to “save” them. One has to wonder if these posters realize the potential damage their posts could inflict on local greenhouses and nurseries. It seems unlikely.

To clarify, these large retail outlets don’t actually purchase the plants they stock; they receive them on consignment from particular growers. If these plants wither, get infested, or face any other issues, they can simply be discarded without any financial loss. This contrasts starkly with local greenhouses and nurseries, which either have to buy their plants or cultivate them. Every plant they lose translates to a monetary setback.

Take Angle Acres as an example, a family-run business in Western New York since 1977. They’re reopening their doors this Saturday, 11/27, for the first time since the pandemic started.

For big retailers, plants are primarily a way to lure customers in. These stores can afford to price plants low, banking on making a profit from other high-priced items. Customers might come in initially for the plants, but they often end up browsing and shopping in the more expensive sections.

Moreover, by buying in massive quantities, these large stores often get priority from suppliers, which can hamstring smaller businesses. When a customer visits a local nursery or plant store and doesn’t find what they want because it hasn’t been delivered yet, they might turn to big retailers as an alternative.

Supplier favoritism doesn’t stop at priority delivery. A few years ago, a unique black Zamioculcas zamiifolia plant hit the market. The primary distributor of these plants, supplying big retail chains, trademarked the plant as ZZ Raven. This meant that only these large stores had access to sell them, and if an independent seller or individual tried selling this plant, they risked legal action.

Consider that in 1990, Home Depot was just starting to gain traction. Fast forward to 2007, and it’s become a behemoth in the hardware sector, leading to the closure of over 5,000 small hardware shops from 1990 to 2007, as highlighted by Stacy Mitchell’s 2007 book, “Big Box Swindle.” It would be intriguing to find out the current state of independent greenhouses and nurseries since then. It’s essential to remember that when you spend money at local retailers, a more significant portion stays within the community. They often support local banks, advertise in local media, stock locally-produced goods, and contribute to local charities. This community reinvestment isn’t something you usually find with large chain stores.

As we approach Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, I urge you to support your local nurseries, greenhouses, and plant stores. By doing so, you’re not just buying superior quality plants, but also investing in the expertise, passion, and well-being of your local community.