Actually, it depends on the plants as to whether they are vendor-owned or store-owned. In this case, all of the amaryllis were store owned. When the local manager gets tired of seeing them, they are thrown into the trash compacter for the dumpster. Things such as bulbs, shrubs and trees tend to be store owned, that's why they get marked down. Vendor-owned stuff, such as live plants, don't get marked down. Usually, the store manager ignores them, let's them die and then ships them back to the vendor for credit,
Anna... I'm an accomplished dumpster diver going back decades! Years ago, we used to have a warehouse for our antiques & collectibles business. It was standard routine to check the dumpster daily. We pulled some really great stuff out.... dining room furniture, oak railings, advertising materials, beer, etc.
Between dollar stores and dumpster dives, I've saved tons of money over the years.
Back when I was a teenager, I worked at Woolworth's. Every spring, I would bring home the leftover potted plants from Easter and Mother's Day. My mom ended up with a rather large collection of tulips and lilies. Until, that is, my dad decided it was time to rearrange the yard.
I was really hoping to get my hands on the amaryllis kits. For those not familiar, each box contains an amaryllis bulb, a 'cheap' plastic pot (good enough for starting things in) and a compressed soil disk like the Jiffy peat pellets. All three things would have found a new use and the cardboard boxes would have been recycled. Now, it's all going to end up in a landfill somewhere.
