We'd need a photo to evaluate it, but $16 for a "discolored, droopy and sad" plant seems a bit out of line. By about $12 at least. I might pop $4 on a questionable plant, but that's about the ceiling for me. Half the time, those plants are also piggybacking insects or other diseases, and I have to keep them isolated from my other friends for a while to assure that they don't set off a pandemic in my own household.

Begonia maculata? These can be difficult begonias to grow even for good gardeners, let alone when they're neglected in the store.

Thanks everyone! Had you all said... Wow that's a magic plant how did it ever end up at Walmart? Run and go get it no matter the condition for the magic beans alone!!! I knew better. But those once pretty plants looked so uncomfortable in their poor surroundings. This plant habit is deepening. When I start bringing home lost causes the addiction has reached a new level. What do the big box stores do with the pots once the staff kills the plants???? Oh no.... now I want the pots of the dead.

Sometimes you can get the zombie pots for free if you ask nicely. Sometimes they have to be returned to the vendor for the refund. Usually the employees get first crack at any that don't have to be returned. Most often, the manager will tell you they have to be returned because it's a) true, and b) they don't want to sort through for the ones that don't have to be.

If you do get lucky, I strongly suggest cleaning them, then soaking them in 1 part chlorine bleach and 9 parts water for 1 hour before storage or use to kill any pathogens. I do that with any pots that I used before returning them to storage anyway, it's just a good idea.

I've read that the grower is responsible for the plants which is kind of ridiculous as the employee(s) in charge of the in-store care often treat them all the same - water until overflowing, including pots in decorative cache pots. I've also read that unsold plants often go in the dumpster and can't be sold even if a customer is willing to take it on. Dumpster diving anyone?

Other nurseries often have more lax rules. I got some free poinsettias at a large nursery in Chattanooga after Christmas because the employee in charge of houseplants said they were going in the trash later that day - take what you want for free. I grabbed two but a couple of years later they ended up dead or on my compost heap.

The chronic issue at warehouse store plant departments in my area is lack of timely watering. And I have seen more than one chain renting out shelf space to suppliers. Just as some grocery stores do. So that store employees may have no information about specific products that are present at the time or what is coming later and when it will be there.

And - yes - sick plants are no deal if they introduce a pathogen or pest to your property after you bring them home.