[DeepSouthBamaGRITS]

I do the same thing, too! They will sometimes have a pile of dead-looking plants on a cart that I will examine and then find a clerk to get a manager. I can usually make a deal or have them all given to me just to get them out of their way.
I am known to be the PLANT LADY DR in my area. People bring me their dead or dying plants for me to try to save them. Some I can, some are history if there is no root life. I’ve even been called to go to people’s homes to look at in-ground plants/trees to try to figure out what is wrong. When I say I need to prune back a lot of the dead growth to give the root system more vigor to put all it’s energy in what is still living, they will go ballistic on me. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY YEARS IT TOOK THIS TREE TO GET THIS BIG?? NO, YOU’RE NOT CUTTING IT BACK. I tell them they have two options. One is to prune back the dead growth and save the tree because it WILL grow back or Leave it be and let it finish dying and you’ll have nothing.
Some will even bring me dead/dying plants and tell me if you can save them, you can have them…WIN WIN WIN situation most of the time.
Just check for any live growth or scratch down to the cadmium layer of the bark. It if is green then white (the cadmium layer) it still has life. If it is brown, it is dead BUT the root system may still be alive. So I check the roots, if they are beige/white, there is a good chance they will recover, if they are brown…they are dead. Most plants are either OVERWATERED-root rot or UNDERWATERED unless there is a disease but I’ll not delve into that situation right now…too many to explain.