Pricing.

[RobG 86]

8 minutes ago, Guardian Forestry said:

Like the other guys have said, I don't see how you can take the top out but also leave it as a dome so you may want to discuss and agree a price for the whole thing coming out before you start. I've had a few requests like this, and whilst the customer wants a nicely shaped finished specimen, it's never going to be the same as something that's been shaped and cared for over the years. The job itself is simple enough but I guess you don't want to be in the situation where the customer's not happy with the flat top but then isn't happy with the additional cost to have the whole thing taken out as inevitably, they'll hold the blame against you (completely unfairly of course!) Best of luck with it 👍

Thanks again it is exactly that we’ve had a long discussion about it and I’ve told her there would be an additional cost and in the long run. If I have to then take it out at a later date, it would be more as it will be a second visit, I could do it all in one go.  I did one for them a few years back and I was very happy with the work and the shape. Of course it could never be a full dome shape as it would have no top growth but more the case it’s feathered in to make it a nice shape. Guess we will see how it turns out lol.  Photos to follow after the job. Thanks for the message. 

[lux]

2 hours ago, RobG 86 said:

Thank you mate for the information really does help. The trunk is about 10 inch where it needs cutting. The customer would like it shaping into a dome or a ball which we can do. Most of the work can be done from the other side in her garden so yeah about an hour.  Thanks again Lux. 

As others say. It’s a flat top for that one. 

[Jon Lad]

I’m not sure you’d be able to

give that a “flat top” tbh, the way Lawson cypress tends to grow with pendulous branches that sweep up at the ends; if those end’s don’t come up enough you can end up with the point you’ve reduced the stem down to, being visible as a stump above the growth which you’ve taken it to. 

 

That can sometimes be difficult to get customers to understand, when you try and explain it to them. 

[sime42]

I agree, the stem normally ends up being a foot or so higher than the outside of the "flat top". Though you probably won't see it from the ground, with pespective and elevation etc. Looks worse when you're up there at the top, desperately trying to get everything level.

 

I think it gets worse the lower down that you're trying to take the tree to, due to the way they grow. The lowest branches are the drooppiest. 

 

[Mark Bolam]

The trick is to drop the height of the stem just below the height you’ve reduced the sides to.

 

They all look shit anyway.

Trying to turn trees into shrubs rarely ends well.

[Jon Lad]

9 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

The trick is to drop the height of the stem just below the height you’ve reduced the sides to.

 

They all look shit anyway.

Trying to turn trees into shrubs rarely ends well.

Quite right. 

That’s easier to do with Leylandii & Thuja though, as a lot of varieties of Lawsons (in my experience) just don’t have a growth habit which allows you to do that. 
 

I would suggest the best option here may be to see if the customer was amenable to remove it and replace with something else, since it’s a fairly sizeable “top” that they want off and what they’re going to be left with with in the end will not look great; no matter how long you spent trying. 

“Trying to turn trees into shrubs” is a great description - might have to pinch that one. 😉

[Dan Maynard]

I think maybe just take a quarter or a third off rather than come all the way down to your half way line - the less you take the easier it will be to reshape.

 

I'd have been more 120 if it's an hour so making me think I'm too cheap, on the other hand small jobs are hard to price fairly as the travelling time can swamp the job time if you're not careful so that you don't fit many one hour jobs into a day. I'm lucky in that my work is small area so can juggle them together.

[John Shutler]

3 hours ago, Mark Bolam said:

The trick is to drop the height of the stem just below the height you’ve reduced the sides to.

 

They all look shit anyway.

Trying to turn trees into shrubs rarely ends well.

I usually tell people to do nothing at all, then when they can't stand it anymore fell the thing and put something else in its place 

[Mark Bolam]

That’s the top answer.

[richyrich]

5 hours ago, Jon Lad said:

I’m not sure you’d be able to

give that a “flat top” tbh, the way Lawson cypress tends to grow with pendulous branches that sweep up at the ends; if those end’s don’t come up enough you can end up with the point you’ve reduced the stem down to, being visible as a stump above the growth which you’ve taken it to. 

 

That can sometimes be difficult to get customers to understand, when you try and explain it to them. 

Agreed- once had a similar tree. The ahole  customer then asked- wasn't there a book on how to prune trees...

Edited March 23, 2023 by richyrich
spelling ahole