Other landscapers silence can be costing you money.

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If your properties have plants that get hedge trimmed take a look at the section of your maintenance contract regarding hedge trimming.   

• Does it say something like “neat and trim appearance” or "natural look"?    The issue is that phrases like that have different meanings to everyone.  One person may think 6 trimmings a year while another 52.  In order to come to a fixed monthly price, the landscaper budgets for how many times per year they trim your bushes.  If they have to do more they have to come up with the money to pay for that.  Where is that money coming from?    Whos' definition is used

• Consider telling them that your definition of phrases like that means weekly hedge trimming.  We are interested to hear how they handle this.  Very few landscapers and properties allow plants to have a natural look.  Hedge trimming is typically nothing like a natural look.  

• Our maintenance contracts specify the number of trimmings per year and when possible, we work with customers to reduce the cost to hedge trim by doing certain things or eliminate the plants that get hedge trimmed and install lower cost ones to maintain.  Typically with plants that do not get hedge trimmed there is less gas powered equipment used which means maintenance visits are quieter and pollute less. 

• If properties current landscapers have not brought items up like this; their silence has and will cost properties a significant amount of money;  year after year in landscape maintenance costs.     

 Limited tree trimming is "included" in many maintenance contracts.  Many times up to a certian height.  Many do not know why a height is chosen.  We know why in many cases.  It is related to what their insurance company says.   Many times maintenance contracts just includes removing  the lowest branches and is often times not enough to have healthy trees with good canopy structure.  Healthy (and especially larger) trees provide many benefits to properties including financial so healthy trees are important.  Have you noticed that a lot of times trees or branches come down when it is windy.  This could possibly be minimized with proper a tree trimming program that includes the upper branches.      

• Just to see what tree trimming really costs; have you ever asked a tree company just to bid on tree trimming?  Many times it is more expensive than many months of landscape maintenance costs so how are the maintenance companies doing proper trimming?  Some customers might say that they do not care as long as it gets done.  But what is the true cost of it being done?  Something else either has to give or higher prices charged somewhere else to get this partial work included.    

• If lower branches are large, lets say 12 inches or greater diameter.  Will they really be cut at no additional cost?  Will costs be hidden in other line items?    We have seen that many times removing tree trimming from maintenance contracts and having a separate tree trimming contract / program works out better for the trees and the properties that own them and the cost difference is not much considering the benefits.

• Like with hedge trimming if properties current landscapers have not brought items up like this; their silence has and will cost properties a significant amount of money at the risk of the trees health.