When perusing the aisles of their local hardware store, one shopper was suddenly drawn to something that looked unnaturally bright — a pallet of neon-colored cacti.
They posted a photo of the cacti, which were labeled "Kosmik Kactus," on Reddit.
"Went by a hardware store to look for young, unlabeled trichocereus for Christmas gifts and instead I found this b*******," they vented.
The cacti are a bright fuchsia, neon orange, and purple, without a green stem in sight.
Jokingly, OP asked: "Are these colors natural?"
One person responded, "Not on this planet."
Another joked, "Natural and beautiful."
One commenter also pointed out that while the label claims the paint is safe for plants, "they will all most likely die from the artificial color."
"Makes me so mad everytime I see it," they lamented.
Despite the concerns, these painted plants — or even rubber versions of them — make frequent appearances at gardening and hardware stores. There have also been sightings of real cacti with fake plastic flowers glued to them, a practice that can damage the cactus and ultimately kill it.
Unfortunately, far from cultivating respect for nature, these sales techniques of making plants as "consumable" and trendy as possible can result in ignorance and misunderstanding, generally leading to the death of the plants.
And this is far from the only willful ignorance on display at plant shops. Major retailers like Home Depot have been criticized for deliberately selling geographically invasive species, like English ivy and even bamboo. Considering that when left unchecked, these species can do thousands of dollars of damage to yards and homes, selling them to buyers without adequate information is highly irresponsible.
Instead, whether looking for a gift or a plant for yourself, it's best to go in armed with a native species list and, at the very least, only choose real plants that haven't been chemically altered or glued.
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