I do the grocery shopping early morning on Sunday, before the crowds get out. I decided to drop into the Lowe's and see what happened with those drowning orchids.
It appeared that they were just as they were the previous week, still sitting in water-filled, non-draining vases. There was not a single worker in the garden center, so I proceeded to take every Phalaenopsis out of its vase and put them on a lower wire rack so that they could dry out. They would get shade from the upper racks of dying tropical plants and perhaps some of these plants will have a chance to live. I had several customers that were strolling through the garden center, stop and glance at me and I know they were thinking: "What in the world is that (old) man doing?" Even though none of them said a word to me, I simply said that I was trying to save the orchids from drowning. I have a feeling that none of these folks knew heads or tails about orchids but most of them smiled at me. I do think they believed that I was being a good Samaritan. At least none of them reported my actions to management.
I think I will go back by there in a couple of days, and though I don't particularly care about growing Phal., I might just offer a couple of bucks for each of the plants that still show some life. I have a feeling that the Lowe's employee who makes these kind of decisions won't accept my offer (I feel like they would just as soon throw the plants away), but at least I can try to save some plants. Gosh, I sound like a tree-hugger, don't I.
