We love big box plant stores. Megastores like Lowe’s or Home Depot provide us with a constant supply of well-priced houseplants. This post isn’t meant to degrade large retailers, but to provide you with some big box plant shopping dos and don’ts. I work at a plant wholesaler, and can tell you from experience, large shipments of plants don’t always get the best treatment. Here are my insider tips. 

Don’t Bring Home An Infested Plant 

This is the first and most obvious precaution – don’t bring home an infested plant. Both suppliers and retailers squeeze as many plants as they can into a square foot. If one has bugs all of them have bugs. Check crevices, stems, and undersides of leaves. If the store is dimly lit, walk the plant to a brighter spot so you can get a better look. Poke the soil and make sure nothing flies out. If it does, make sure it’s a bug you can eradicate. A few gants won’t destroy your collection, but mealybugs and thrips cause permanent damage. 

Don’t Scorch Your Light-Deprived Plant 

Light-deprived plants burn easily. If you choose a plant from a dark corner of the store, you’ll need to gradually introduce it to more light. I once found a rare ZZ zenzi stashed on a dimly-lit shelf of Lowe’s. On the way home I stopped to run a quick errand and left it in the car. By the time I got home the leaves were scorched. It was so light-deprived it burned in just a few minutes of summer sun. 

Do Make Sure Your Plant Is In The Proper Medium

Suppliers pot plants in whatever soil they have on hand, so make sure your plant is in the proper medium and repot if needed. I’ve seen sansevierias sold in soggy, moisture retaining soil and tropicals in dry, sandy dirt. Where I work, we have large bins of soil which are used for just about every type of plant. So don’t assume the supplier got it right. 

Do Give Your Plant A Jacket 

If you are wearing a jacket, you might want to give your new plant one too. Just a few minutes of winter cold can damage delicate leaves. In big box stores, you’re in charge of wrapping your plant, so think through your exit strategy when plant shopping. Just yesterday I bought a lush philodendron Brasil. After paying for it, I realized my car was parked at the far end of the lot. Temperatures read 16 degrees. I opted to pull my car up to the door, then wrapped my plant in a jacket to get it from the car to the house to shield it from the cold. 

Do Shop Near The End Of The Week

Big box stores stock up for the weekends, so check for new shipments on Thursdays or Fridays. By Sunday or Monday the selection is usually picked over. There’s nothing more exciting for a plant lover than to be in the store when a fresh new rack of plants rolls in.

I hope those tips were helpful for you. One more tip – create a wish list. This way you won’t be tempted to overbuy and can save room for the plants you really want.