I have seen this "disposable plant" mindset appearing with cacti, succulents, and orchids. It used to be done only with annuals, and perennials were given more respect. You can have a cute little plant on your desk or window, then chuck it when the hot new thing appears at the store. As Droopy says, "You know what?? That makes me mad...."
I'll probably rant more on this later, after I think through more of the philosophical/cultural ramifications. Yesterday I was just shocked and had to put this photo up ASAP. Have any of you seen these in your stores? What do you think?
Marla, this is a terrible turn of events!!! Just like the tasteless Red Delicious apples and FL/CA strawberries that ship very well, look good at the grocers, and HAVE NO TASTE!! The bad side of "marketing"! Dad
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. And I think there's a creepy ethical side to this too, which I'll write more about later. After all, cacti are complete living creatures, unlike a piece of fruit or veg.
That is pretty annoying, and I can understand your frustration. I recently bought a potted plant that had decorative stones glued to it as well (the Aloe plicatilis to be exact). Pretty stones and it looked nice, but glued nonetheless. I think the glue on my pot plant was specially formulated, and I could simply use my fingers to break the stones off and into individual pieces (which was kinda fun). For other bits, I just used a spoon to remove them, which is probably a good idea for yours because of the thorns. I then repotted it which is what you could possibly do with yours. :-)
ReplyDeleteI tried removing the stones but to no avail, they are in there with superglue, it seems. It was a gift, so I don't want to ruin it, but...drastic measures may apply at some point. One of the cacti already has rot, so sad. I might be able to save the one that looks like a Mammillaria, but only if I smash the pot first. Yeesh, what marketing mastermind thought this up, "I know, let's glue plants in their pots!"
ReplyDeleteThis is so wrong on so many different levels. Just smash the pot and get the poor cacti out of their glue prison. Better to save the Mammillaria than to let them all die.
ReplyDeleteI always get angry when I see orchid plants treated as disposable decorations. I suppose it's only a matter of time until they start gluing them into their pots, too.
I was going to email you about the poor phals I've seen here, but then thought, you already know, and it's so sad. OK, I'll crack that pot and get those cacti out of there, it's just so appalling to see so little regard for lives from nursery people who know what the plants need. More rant later, I can feel one coming on! (oh dear)
ReplyDeleteOi.... yes. It's just appalling. The fate of pot plants in general is pretty grim. I'd like to add architects to the list of the guilty. They design buildings which are so singularly unsuitable for growing anything other than mould that the fate of most pot plants is more or less sealed. With just the tiniest bit of forsight buildings can be planned to make one teeny little corner a plant haven where a pot plant has more than a 0% chance at survival. And with just a bit more foresight you can turn the whole thing into a veritable greenhouse! I don't even attempt to grow anything in my house. Had it been designed with just one or two well placed windows (as opposed to throwing your pen into the air and putting the window where it lands) it could have been very different. And it would have cost nothing extra - just a bit of thought!
ReplyDeletePaddarotti,
ReplyDeleteThose are excellent points- I hadn't thought about house design until I read your comment, and you're so right! Houses should be designed with indoor growing in mind, it would be so practical, especially given the scary state of world climate/weather.
Houses (and public buildings) should not only be designed with indoor growing in mind, they should be designed with PEOPLE in mind. Half the time I don't know what architects, engineers, and designers are thinking. Now I feel another design rant coming on.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of world climate, I just read an article this morning about how oysters in the Pacific Northwest can no longer grow from larvae to adults because the acidity in the ocean has risen to the point where it prevents them forming a shell. Not just sad, but frightening.
I agree, and creature-appropriate architecture is one of our common rant areas. The designers/builders are thinking of the biggest profit for the smallest outlay/effort. And there are so many arcane regulations to cope with, too, many of which are outdated or just plain misguided. Time for an architecture revolution! But at least our homes aren't as dark as European homes from 200 or so years ago, I've stayed in some of those, and wow, how did people cope? I can see why no one except a few aristocrats grew orchids as a hobby in Europe until electricity and the previous architectural revolution made windows and open floor plans acceptable!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I read that article on the oysters too. Scary stuff....
ReplyDelete