Just realized people keep confusing perennial and annual plants at the garden center

I was at Lowe's last week in the plant section and overheard a guy telling his friend that marigolds come back every year. I had to bite my tongue lol. As a night shift nurse I don't get to garden much but I've been growing stuff for about 5 years now and the number of people who think annual means "dies in winter and comes back" is wild. Marigolds are annuals people, they die after one season no matter what. Has anyone else noticed this mix-up when they're out shopping for plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivermason16d ago

I've definitely seen this happen too, it's painful to watch. My neighbor planted a whole bed of geraniums thinking they were perennials and got so mad when they didn't come back the next spring. The tags are right there on the little plastic stakes but I guess people just see a pretty flower and zone out. It's hard not to step in when you hear someone making a mistake like that.

max_cooper2116d ago

You see this all the time with lavender too. Do you think garden centers are just bad at labeling, or do people straight up ignore the tags?

murray.robert16d ago

I used to blame the stores but you're right, people just grab whatever looks pretty.