Hedge trimming

Why it starts.

Hedge trimming is often times the result of not taking the mature size of a plant into consideration when it is planted by planting it in a spot that it will outgrow with out intervention.

How often it happens.

Many contracts say something like "neat and trim". This means something different for everyone. Does it mean once a week? Two times a year or more? Generic phrases leave a lot open for interpretation and not knowing what costs are. Each round of trimming has a cost associated with it and growth between trimmings can make bushes look unkept. Customers pay for this service month after month and year after year. As costs including labor increase; so does the cost to hedge trim.

Expenses like labor increase what can be done?

Wages, fuel, disposal and other expenses tend to rise through out the years. Some landscapers may pass these costs on to there customers. Some might reduce the number of hours they spend at customers properties or reduce services to maintain margins.

What can be done?

On Time Landscapings staff tries to work with our customers to implement alternatives to reduce or eliminate the need to increase what we charge our customers or reduce hours worked. The ROI of implementing our ideas is usually very attractive to customers once they understand what we are trying to do.

A few years ago

a customer called us frantic because one of their hedge trimmed bushes caught on fire at the entrance to their drive through, maybe from a cigarette. Typically hedge trimmed bushes have a reasonable amount of dead wood just below the outer layer of leaves. This customer had to shut down their building and the shopping center while the fire department dealt with it. Thankfully no one got hurt and no property was damaged besides the bush. We want to minimize the chance of this happening for other customers and why many times removing the improperly placed plant and installing one of appropriate size for the area saves customers money and does not mean looking at an untrimmed bush.

On Time Landscaping