Should supermarkets be banned from selling plants

Was having a chat with a sales rep from Vitax today. He informed me that horticultural weekly had been contacted about starting a survey regarding the possibility of supermarkets and other establishments being banned from selling plants where there is a no watering or care of plants policy in place.

The survey has closed now, shame as I fully support a ban on supermarkets being banned from selling plants when they are not watering them. The plants on trolleys outside our local B&M, Aldi and Tesco are disgraceful. I don't have an issue with them selling plants if they are going to make an effort to water them, but when they insist on a sales and return policy with the growers, it's highly unlikely they are going to care.

Would you support a ban when these establishments have a no watering policy?

HortWeek Survey: Supermarkets - should they be banned from selling plants? | HortWeek

 

We've had that conversation a few years back at the other place...I absolutely agree that it's a huge waste of resources to grow plants to only leave them to either get damaged by cold weather or neglect which happens all the time outside DIY establishments and Supermarkets.

It shouldn't be beyond the capability of the managers of those stores to come up with a rota to do some watering and tidying up during quiet parts of the working day. But it seems they just use plants as the collateral for increased footfall and that is it.

I was relieved to see that our local Wickes hadn't had any plants withering outside for a few months...hope they have stopped for good. It looks terrible and surely gives the wrong message to your customers if they go past trolleys of semi dead plants to enter. Some common sense needed.

 

One of the problems is the dependence on staff skill. A few years ago, I used to find the local Morrisons plants excellent. I later met the person who had been in charge of them, and had previously run her own floristry. Couple of years later, she's retired, and when I asked the chap left in charge of them about something, he said "I don't know, I'm normally on the meat counter". So the plants now are dead within no time. Such a waste!

 

So let me get this right. People are moaning about supermarkets and the like not looking after the plants they sell and saying they should be banned because of cruelty to plants? Is that the gist of it?
Unbelievably laughable if it's true! First world problems at their finest!.
Seriously, people don't have to buy the plants if they're not happy with them....I'm sorry, this I feel is in the same league as the woman who wanted their neighbours cat put down because it stared at her through the window...nope I'm out

 

In 2021, Brits spent £5.1 billion on plants:
Plants and flowers retail sales revenue UK 2021 | Statista
In 2022, Brits spent £6.1 billion on plants (2023)
UK Houseplant Statistics (Updated For 2024) | Horticulture

Just to compare:
Annual sales of B&Q in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland from financial year 2010/11 to 2021/22: £4.2 billion
B&Q UK & Ireland sales 2010-2022 | Statista

The market for growing plants just for supermarkets is very attractive, and its waste ends up on landfills not only in the "First World" (as you call it), but also in the "Third World". Like with any other market, it should be looked at how they produce and the environmental impact.

 

I'd love a ban on them selling those giant pumpkins in October. Just think about all the inputs (land, fertiliser, water ...) then the lorries trucking them across the country, then they are taken home only to be thrown away a week later with the extra pressure on the waste and recycling services.

 

Tot up all the plastic pots used for them and it's ethically wrong. Financially wrong. As for morally, I'd happily ban the sale of cut flowers too It's nothing short of murder.
Wasn't the change of policy on watering them down to health and safety concerns?
It took me a few years to realise that the incredibly cheap, healthy plants that appeared in our local supermarket in spring were guaranteed to be dead twigs by October because it might suit the supermarket's marketing schedule but it's entirely the wrong season to plant here.

 

Might be best to tackle the problem the other way round.
Perhaps the horticultural get together and refuse to sell them plants unless they have a proper plant section, the trouble is bedding plants are just seasonal, but they hardly look after house plants properly.

 

Pffff...do you reckon the Dutch growers give a toss as long as they can keep turning out millions of plants?

 

I hope more supermarkets introduce these policies. At Morrisons for examples plants get "watered". Ha-ha, if it can be called that way, I would say more of drowning than watering.
But I like that I can grab a pack of annuals when on food shopping. Or houseplants occasionally.

 

Glad you posted that. What was the main reason for the jump in sales in 2021 compared to 2020. In 2020 we had the lockdowns with spending time in the garden being the norm, the drop in sales of plants in 2020 compared to the previous 5 years was down to the lack of retail compost being available. Our local discount stores and supermarkets were all allowed to be open during lockdown, yet they all had one thing in common, no compost. With the lack of compost for sale these stores did not have the same volume and range of plants as they would do. But then there was a boom in the sales of compost, seeds, plants etc etc. So we seen a surge in growth due to Covid and like most things, the bubble will eventually burst.

Westland announced their revenue for 2023 not so long ago, revenue had normalised back to pre-Covid levels with their profits in 2023 being 43% less than the previous year. The start of 2024 started reasonably well for us, but from late March we have witnessed a drop off in trade sales as well as retail sales. A lot of people would of spent money on their garden during lockdown and after, probably more than we would of done normally, but the bubble has burst. The local discount stores and supermarkets still have more Danish trolley's of plants as though this growth in plant sales is continuing, which will result in more volumes going back for composting or landfill.

 

I was in my local Homebase about a week ago, and they had a rack of plants reduced to half price. Most were actually dead!