After a trip to Home Depot, one Redditor was up in arms about a product they saw on the store's shelves.
"Home Depot at it again!" they complained.
The picture features a tray full of small, potted succulents. Instead of their natural green, the plants have been painted purple, red, pink, and teal. They're being marketed as "Kosmik Kaktus."
"I honestly can't believe these exist every time I see them," said one commenter. "Someone somewhere is actually buying these, they must be, and that's just too much to wrap my head around."
Although the practice doesn't make much sense, it's not limited to Home Depot. Another user complained about the same issue when they found succulents apparently dipped in blue paint at Lowe's.
Commenters expressed concern about the plants being able to breathe and photosynthesize through the paint, but one commenter insisted it wasn't a problem. "I've read the label before In store," said the user. "The label there says 'Kosmik Kaktus plants get their otherworldly look from colors specially formulated for plant life. The artificial coloring does not harm the plants and they will grow out of it in time.'"
But other users weren't satisfied.
"With all due respect, as someone who has been into plants and aquariums for a bit, so many people in these hobbies will tell you lies or very cherry picked info," said a commenter. "If I am going to believe that the paint isn't harmful, I would definitely want to see studies done on it, and in the concentrations they spray onto the plants."
If the paint really is harmless, then this is an understandable, if weird, trend. But if the paint actually does stop the plant from respirating and photosynthesizing, as it seems like it should, then this is a huge waste of customers' money and of the resources it takes to grow, prepare, and ship each plant. Plus, many paints contain chemicals that are bad for people and the environment.
Gardeners who prefer unpainted plants can always grow their own instead.
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