These plants are doomed to the dumpster.
In a TikTok video, Simmy (@sarawara) captured the harsh reality for plants at their Lowe's garden center.
@sarawara It's only April. By June their garden center will look like a graveyard of plants. What a waste, Lowes! #lowes #plants #gardencenter ♬ Funny - Gold-Tiger
"Lowes plants dry up and die year after year because no one waters them," Simmy wrote in a caption from the video.
The video shows tons of shriveled and wilting plants with clearly dry soil. Simmy's husband took action by picking up a hose and giving the thirsty plants a much-needed rinse.
"It's only April," the post's description read. "By June their garden center will look like a graveyard of plants. What a waste, Lowes!"
While some of these plants will be sold at a discount, many are simply thrown away. Plants are biodegradable, and the decomposition process is beneficial — to an extent. Decaying plants release carbon, though, and excess decomposition can accelerate changes to our climate.
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A study from the University of Sterling reported that "decaying dead plants and leaves, known as plant litter, release 60 petagrams [about 66 billion tons] of carbon into the atmosphere every year – six times more than all human emissions – and contribute around 10% of the total amount of carbon in the atmosphere."
Here's hoping that the pots aren't thrown away too, as Lowe's encourages consumers to bring in their plant pots for in-store recycling. Their site reads, "Don't just throw out the plastic pots! Instead, bring them back to any Lowe's and the company will recycle them! Just drop them off with any associate and they will put them back to good reuse!"
If thrown away, "plastics like the ones in plastic plant pots can take around 450 years to biodegrade in landfill," wrote TranquilPlants.
It's not the first time Lowe's garden center has come under fire. Lowe's and other stores sell succulents that have been painted bright colors to appeal to customers. Paints or dyes on plants, while visually striking, can be harmful to the plants by introducing chemicals or limiting photosynthesis.
Many commenters believed that Lowe's doesn't care about their plants enough to water them.
"At my store it's because we're short staffed and can just write them off if they die so people just don't care," one presumed Lowe's employee wrote.
Some make an effort to save the dying plants.
"I got a guava tree from the near dead clearance section," a user commented. "It's on the mend and growing new leaves."
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