We received a call the other day from a homeowner requesting to meet with our ISA Certified Arborist. The homeowner was frustrated with “the lawn guys” whom they had just hired to trim their trees. Prior to hiring them the homeowner had received two estimates. Choosing to go with the “cheapest” bid, which was approximately $1,600 less than the highest bid. These “savings” would sadly cost her several thousands down the road.
Why you might ask? The lawn guys completely topped (cut the entire top portion of the tree off) eleven small Magnolia trees. Topping of trees, which we at Henderson Tree and Landscape refuse to do, will cause a number of problems, which eventually all lead to the death of the tree. In essence, all eleven of the trees in which she had requested to be trimmed but were topped, have begun to decay and will need to be removed.
The cost to remove the topped trees and stump grind is anywhere from $2,000 to $3,500. Once these have been removed and the stumps ground, the client will then face the additional cost of selecting like trees (eleven) which will then need to be installed at an additional cost per tree. This additional cost can total anywhere from $3,500 to $4,500. Remember, once these new trees are planted they still will not be the height of the previous trees prior to being improperly trimmed.
In conclusion, the homeowner’s thoughts of saving $1,600 have turned into a living nightmare where she may pay anywhere from $5,500 to $8,000 to fix this hack job performed by uncertified and untrained “lawn guys.”
For more information on why topping is bad click here.
Below is a picture of just one of the trees that was topped.
