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Gardeners, set your alarms for this freebie if you live near a Fred Meyer store. A favorite springtime tradition is coming back tomorrow: Fred Meyer Fuchsia Saturday 2023! Just like in years past, you’ll get to take home free potting soil with any plant purchase you make on Saturday, April 15.
This freebie obviously draws heavy crowds, and soil supplies tend to run out early. So what time should you get there? And do you have to buy their fuchsia plants to get the deal? (Nope, you don’t!) We’ll get into all the deets right here:
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Fred Meyer Fuchsia Saturday 2023 happens on Saturday, April 15.
The Fuchsia Saturday planting event always takes place on a Saturday morning in April, rain or shine. In fact, they’ve hosted the springtime event just about every year since 1991.
This year’s event will kick off at 7 a.m. on April 15, 2023, at all Fred Meyer locations with a garden center.
Not familiar with Fred Meyer? They’re part of the Kroger family of brands, with 132 total Fred Meyer locations in four states (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington).
Related: The Home Depot Spring Sale is also in full swing — and we found the best deals happening now.
You get free potting soil with any plant purchase you make on Fuchsia Saturday.
With the purchase of any plant (you’ll show your receipt as proof), Fred Meyer will supply you with free Black Gold Potting Soil. Yep, 100% free. But it’s not a free bag of soil you’re going to take home. Instead, you’ll bring your own pots or planters from home and they’ll fill them up for you on the spot.
I’ve confirmed with a Fred Meyer associate that each shopper can bring up to eight planters in total, and the planters or pots can measure up to 12 inches across (just no bigger). So that means you can get up to eight planters’ worth of soil for free!
TIP: The free soil deal is only good while supplies last, so you’ll want to get there bright and early. Stores often run out of soil by 9:30 a.m. due to high demand.
Why is it called Fuchsia Saturday?
Even though the event is named for the fuchsia plant — a perennial with brightly colored, tube-shaped blossoms — you don’t actually have to buy a fuchsia during the event to get your free soil. But they do sell fuchsia “starts” (aka baby plants) in a 3-inch pot for as low as $0.89 (with your reward card).
Last year the same size fuchsia plants went for $0.99, so the price is actually cheaper by $0.10 this year — score.
Related: Want more garden freebies? You can sign up for the Lowe’s Mother’s Day flower giveaway starting April 30 at midnight.
Buy an $0.89 plant to get the most bang for your buck during Fred Meyer Fuchsia Saturday 2023.
Since the free potting soil comes with proof of any plant purchase on Fuchsia Saturday, why spend more than you have to? Here’s the cheapest plant to buy that will unlock the free soil:
- Fuchsia or Seed Geranium Starts in 3-inch pot, $0.89
Remember, you’ll need to use your Fred Meyer reward card to get the sale price. But that reward card will come in handy when you learn all the best ways to coupon at Fred Meyer.
If you want to go a little bigger, here are more Fred Meyer plant deals I found in the weekly ad (prices good through April 18):
- Ivy Geranium, Sedum, or Succulent Starts in 3-inch pot, 2 for $3
- Flowering Annual 6-pack, $3.99
- Premium Annual in 4-inch pot, 2 for $8 (reg. $4.09 each)
- Confetti Garden in 6-inch pot, $6.99
- Fuchsia Hanging Basket or Premium Annual Hanging Basket in 12-inch pot, $29.99
TIP: Fuchsia plants do well in hanging baskets and can also attract hummingbirds.
Bring eight of your own planters to fill and you’ll get $19 worth of free soil!
Stocksnapper | Dreamstime
To really maximize this freebie, bring eight of your own pots or planters from home (that’s the limit they allow). And also make sure all your pots are 12 inches in diameter (again, we’re taking things to the max here).
Filling up all eight of your 12-inch pots would take about 75.5 liters of soil, based on my calculations with this handy Bonnie Plants soil estimator.
Since each bag of Black Gold Potting Soil ($13.99 sale price) costs $0.25/liter at Fred Meyer this week, that means you’re getting $18.66 worth of potting soil — for free!
TIP: Ask if they can fill your pots or planters all the way to the top, as the soil will settle a little over time. Some locations may even offer to do the planting for you if staffing allows.
