There’s something about walking through the Home Depot Garden Center that makes your thumbs turn green.
Between the perfectly stacked bags of mulch and the colorful flowers on display outside, you’ll be planning a new landscaping project before you know it. But before you whip out your wallet to pay for all your lawn and garden needs, there are a few things to know about shopping at the Home Depot Garden Center.
While we’ve rounded up plenty of Home Depot savings hacks to get you the lowest prices on other essentials, the Garden Center is a whole different ball game. To avoid overspending and missing out on the best deals of the year, read these tips for shopping at the Home Depot Garden Center like a total pro. The first thing you have to do is mark the Home Depot Spring Black Friday sale on your calendar for 2023.
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1. The best Home Depot Garden Center sales are during Spring Black Friday and Memorial Day.
Basically if you want to save money at the Home Depot Garden Center, you need to start at two of the best sales that happen in April and May. Their Spring Black Friday sale and Memorial Day sale are when you’ll find the lowest prices of the year on landscaping essentials. Here’s what you can expect:
Home Depot Spring Black Friday Sale
We predict the Home Depot Spring Black Friday Sale will begin Thursday, April 6, 2023, and will last about a month. In the past, some of the best deals were on 2-cubic foot bags of mulch for $2 (regularly $3.68), three for $12 basic veggie planters, $0.88 annuals, and concrete pavers for $0.25 apiece.
Home Depot Memorial Day Sale
We predict The Home Depot Memorial Day Sale will begin Thursday, May 18, 2023. You’ll find deals like hanging flower baskets for half off and the same (or similar) low prices on mulch, soil, and pavers from the spring sale.
2. Home Depot Garden Center mulch never drops below $2 a bag.
We’ve seen a bunch of different prices for mulch at Home Depot, but they never drop below $2 for a 2-cubic foot bag of wood mulch. You’ll be able to find this price during the Spring and Memorial Day sales. But be careful — some bags are priced at $2 but they are smaller, like 0.75- or 1-cubic foot bags. You’ll still pay $2 a bag, but you won’t be getting the biggest bang for your buck.
Home Depot usually promotes a “5 for $10” deal on mulch during big sales, but you don’t actually have to buy five bags to get the sale price. You can buy one bag or three bags and still pay $2 apiece.
Related: We’ll show you everything you need to know about finding the best mulch sales and exactly how much you should pay.
3. The best time to shop at the Home Depot Garden Center is Friday mornings.
Home Depot releases a new weekly ad (with new deals) every Thursday. And because Home Depot often stocks up before the weekend crowds, you’ll have the largest selection to shop from on Friday mornings.
But if you’re looking for something in particular, ask someone in the Garden Center to find out when that item gets delivered. With that info, you can pick through products before they’re put out for display, getting the freshest and best-quality stuff.
4. If you buy plants in the morning, be sure to grab some plastic for your car (or face a muddy mess).
Buying Home Depot plants in the morning? Grab some plastic to lay down in your car before you take off. Home Depot waters their plants first thing in the morning, so the potential for a muddy mess in the back of your car/trunk is significantly greater. Not speaking from experience or anything …
Home Depot usually has a bin filled with plastic sheeting for this exact purpose. If you can’t find it in the Garden Center, ask an associate if they have any plastic sheeting up for grabs.
Note: Curbside pickup doesn’t work for live plants, but you can get curbside pickup for mulch, pavers, and other non-plant Garden Center items.
5. Don’t pay more than $0.25 apiece for concrete pavers.
Home Depot’s regular prices for concrete pavers are usually between $0.58 and $0.68 per piece. Now, that may seem like a pretty good deal, but you’ll likely need a good chunk of these for whatever project you’re planning. So prices can really add up.
Starting in mid-to-late March, Home Depot will drop prices on Holland Pavers, down from $0.58 to $0.25. This is all wrapped up under a “4 for $1” deal, which we’ve seen time and time again each spring. THIS is the time to stock up on pavers for more than half the price. You can drop the price by a few more cents a paver when you buy in bulk (480 or more).
Related: Ever wonder which is better: Lowe’s or Home Depot? Our guide to Lowe’s vs. Home Depot gives you a final answer, based on which store is better for buying certain items.
6. Look for Special Buy pricing on annuals, perennials, and potted houseplants.
Home Depot usually has a Special Buy price on a handful of plant varieties each week, at least through the spring and summer months.
In the weekly ad, you’ll see products with a Special Buy stamp next to them. These are limited-time discounts on individual items. Some Special Buy prices last all week, while others are for five days only.
Some of the best deals I’ve seen are a 12-pack of annuals for $9.88 (regularly $12.98) and a “5 for $5” deal on 4.5-inch annuals (regularly $1.78 each). Keep an eye out for Special Buys on indoor houseplants, too, like majesty palms and ficus lyrata (aka fiddle-leaf figs).
7. Take advantage of Home Depot bulk pricing for plants, pavers, and other Garden Center buys.
Home Depot bulk pricing gets you a discount when you buy a certain number of items in one purchase. For example, these 12 packs of annual flowers sell for $12.98 a pop. But if you buy four or more, you’ll pay $11.68 a pop.
Bulk pricing deals are available on many other Garden Center items, too, like concrete pavers. Amaretto Holland Pavers cost $0.68 each, but if you buy 480 or more, they only cost $0.61 each.
8. Keep an eye out for freebies with certain Garden Center purchases.
Home Depot loves to throw out freebies on certain lawn care products, especially at the start of spring. Usually you’ll get a free item or refill with a certain purchase of weed killer, turf builder, insect repellent, or other products.
For example, in March and April 2023, Home Depot is offering a free bag of Scotts Ultrafeed with the purchase of a bag of Scotts Triple Action Fertilizer. A 20-pound bag of Ultrafeed normally costs $42.97, so getting it for free is a steal, to say the least.
9. Don’t miss the Home Depot Garden Center clearance in the fall for big discounts.
Spring isn’t the only time to get a good deal in the Garden Center. Home Depot makes room for fall plants and holiday merchandise in September, so that’s when you can find clearance savings — like 50% off or more — on trees, shrubs, perennials, and spring-flowering bulbs. If you can afford the wait, you’ll get 50% off regular prices.
10. You can return dead plants for up to a year with the Home Depot Garden Center Guarantee.
Home Depot trees, perennials, houseplants, and shrubs have a 1-year guarantee. So if your shrub dies on day 364, you can dig it up and return it as long as you still have your receipt.
If any live plants you bought online arrive damaged or dead, call within three days to get a replacement delivered at no charge!
TIP: The Home Depot return policy doesn’t cover floral arrangements, cut flowers, or clearance plants.
11. The Home Depot Garden Center hours are the same as your Home Depot store.
There aren’t any special Home Depot Garden Center hours. Check your local store hours; the Garden Center’s hours are the same.
For the most part, stores open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 or 10 p.m.
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