Strader Garden Center

I have held off on writing this review for over a year because I have had such mixed experiences in the past but I am happy to report that I am now able to give it a 4 star review. It would probably be more of a 3.5 just because some of the prices seem high but 3.5 isn’t an option so 4 it is.
This Strader’s location has seen a change in management as well as much of the staff and the manager, John, has been working hard to bring the store up. It shows! I won’t waste time on what happened before because I don’t expect it is going to be an issue going forward. Here is why I am now a fan:
Selection
They have a huge selection! Lots of fresh seasonally appropriate plants. Right now that means the garden center outside is close to empty but that makes sense since the majority of what would normally be out there is flowers, shrubs, fruits and veggies, etc. In other words, nothing you would be planting late December. The carry an impressive selection of plant pots, seeds, bulbs, décor as well as larger equipment. My one and only complain is that sometimes the prices seem a bit inflated but I also know that I am not likely to find the same item elsewhere. It is a trade off.
Staff
Like I said, the manager has been working hard to bring the quality of the staff up and it shows. I was happy to find two clerks at the registers when I went in this week and both were ready to help. There are other staff floating around the nursery and store as well so it shouldn’t be difficult to get assistance if you need it.
Feel
The feel of the store is actually one of the biggest selling points for me. I realize Strader’s is a chain but this location feels more like a small mom & pop shop. They even have a couple of cats floating around the shop that love to be loved. I always spend a few minutes just chatting with the staff and it feels cozy. Definitely not something you get at Home Depot or Lowes.
Shopping at Strader’s is a little splurge-​y but I will definitely be back.

Went because it was nearby, though I was hesitant due to the reviews. They are accurate…
Service was mixed– one guy didn’t know the answer, so he directed me to someone else who did, but was surly. Selection was sparse (for an early season plant, which should have been plentiful.)
Parking lot torn up, not having what I need, less than average service– won’t be back.

I’m drawn to this location precisely because it’s not Home Depot or Lowe’s.
Over the past few years, I’ve decided to spruce up my house inside and out with flora and fauna. When I want a specific plant, I want to know as much as I can about it (e.g. will I kill it, does it need to be re-​potted immediately, is this the right climate and season for this plant, etc.), so I ask a lot of questions. Staff at this location seems generally knowledgeable about the living plants they sell, but I get more thoughtful and rapid answers about the other products.
I imagine it’s probably challenging to balance a retail wage against finding a plant expert willing to work in a retail environment. In this store, if you go in asking for a specific plant by name, most of the employees will waffle a bit, and start walking around — which is something I could do myself. Again, they probably have one plant expert on-​staff and they most likely work a few hours a week or something. I can only surmise the actual situation — but whenever I’ve gone in (about six or seven times in the past two years), I’ve felt like they knew just a little bit more about the plants than I do — and I’m like a plant reaper! If there were a plant expert on-​staff, I would have expected to be re-​directed to them: «Oh, I don’t know much about the plants, but Suzy does, let me get her for you!» or something. It’s never happened. Perhaps they should post a sign on the door: «Plant expert is IN» like Lucy in the Peanuts comic? Or «Plant Guy is here daily, 3pm to 5pm» so we could come back for the botanical doctor?
They keep their plant stock healthy — most likely a requirement for maintaining employment with a garden center — and the prices are close to average. Plants are sorted, I’ve been told, by season and how much light they need, so you can do your own shopping by looking at the light and picking something pretty that matches your lighting. You can also read the plant tags.
Strader’s isn’t just about plant stock, and I’ve purchased quite a few items from the various sections: mulch, sprouting trays, random tools, pretty pots and topsoil. Yes, I could go somewhere else like Meijer or Home Depot, but this location feels like they care a little bit more than those other places, and they are a locally owned and operated business, which means you’re doing more to support the economy of Columbus by spending your money here.
During the holiday season, they have a nice selection of real and fake Christmas trees, decorations and lights.
Scattered around the store, there are various books, and other odds and ends. One day, I should just go in and look around the store; as I generally go in with a list, get what I need, and head out to complete the project.
Balancing out what I said about the staff earlier, every single person I’ve interacted with at this location has been friendly, helpful and efficient. There’s never a long line in the check-​out, and I’ve never had to wait more than a minute or two for anything.
The store itself is a bit old looking and feeling, but that might just be the fact that plant-​related things revolve around dirt, rocks, mud and mulch; which are, by nature, not clean. When you enter and exit the store, you kinda have to will the automatic door to open, like the Little Engine That Could… I think it can, I think it can! Just don’t rely on it to open when you’re striding in playing Angry Birds on your iPhone or you may just break your nose. Fair warning.
Parking lot is a bit bumpy and old, but there are always ample spots available, and if they need to bring stuff out to your car, there’s a place you can pull up. Most of the things I’ve ever bought, I could just bring out to the car in a cart myself.
Lastly: plant warranty. I never expect a plant warranty, except perhaps for the first week or so. If I see a plant is healthy on the shelf at the store, bring it home, and it dies in a few weeks, guess what? I killed it. I may not have asked the right questions: maybe it was pot-​bound, my water has high levels of chlorine, or I just plain over– or under-​watered it. They kept it alive in the nursery, it looked healthy in the store, I brought it home, and I killed it. If there’s an option to bring that plant back to the store, all sad and dead, and get a replacement? That’s cool, I guess… If the store can turn around and charge back the nursery for that dead plant, even better. But if I kill plants, I’d feel like a tool expecting the retail store to eat my mistakes. Sorry, but that’s just the way I feel.
Now, if the plant looks healthy, and you’re awesome with plants, and you do everything that needs to be done, and it dies the next day next to six other well-​loved identical plants? Yeah, that’s a great time to use the plant warranty. I’m just not sensing this happens with most people.
Summary: feel good about buying here, and if you need knowledge they can’t offer, they sell books!

I can think of several reasons why you should not shop here but I’ll just give you one:
The people that work here are miserable and it comes straight from the attitude of the manager. The old saying misery loves company is present here, and they want you to leave miserable too.
I purchased several plants and pots from here weeks ago, both people that helped me had terrible attitudes but I thought maybe they were having a bad day.
I went home, planted my herbs and waited two weeks before feeding them (instructions that came from a Straders employee). The next day I woke to find my herbs dead. So I took them back to Straders, not knowing whether or not they would exchange them, but thought it was worth a try.
I learned that they «DO NOT GUARANTEE» their plants, that’s fine.
What isn’t cool with me is the attitude from the staff and manager the moment I walked through the door with my big bag of dead plants. Rather than trying to discuss what may have gone wrong, or saying «sorry, no guarantees» with a smile, the manager said that they «Don’t guarantee plants and that I should leave.»
So I walked out, threw my bag of dead plants in the trash and drove to Lowes Garden Center, where I was greeted with a smile and a «How are you today?» I picked a Sweet Basil plant and found «1 year Guarantee» printed on the tag. Lowes, the neighborhood garden center I can live with.