climbingmonkey24
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- United States
How do you present clients with realistic expectations when faced with a hedge that is way overgrown, has holes / gaps in the growth creating unevenness and bare spots, upper growth that resemble mature tree tops as opposed to those of a hedge topping out at different heights in different spots, vines everywhere, etc.
My approach usually is to say how once a hedge has gotten to a point that it’s very overgrown there’s only so much you can do with the initial trim after years of neglect and sometimes it becomes more about managing (if you’re gonna compare a hedge that is 12-15+ ft tall and hasn’t been trimmed in years to the 8-10 ft hedge across the street that’s been trimmed every year and is an entirely different species). We’ll do what we can to try and get it as tight and even as possible and blend in the bare areas, etc. but it may not be possible to get it perfectly flat and square all the way around. And that going forward regular maintenance could help keep it under control and over time it may be possible to “train it” somewhat to adhere to a more desirable shape and fill in somewhat, but the key being regular yearly maintenance (depending how fast it grows).
I know some arborists / climbers want nothing to do with hedge work, but curious how some of you who do take on these kinds of jobs approach these situations to avoid any potential conflict with the client not being satisfied with the outcome.
My approach usually is to say how once a hedge has gotten to a point that it’s very overgrown there’s only so much you can do with the initial trim after years of neglect and sometimes it becomes more about managing (if you’re gonna compare a hedge that is 12-15+ ft tall and hasn’t been trimmed in years to the 8-10 ft hedge across the street that’s been trimmed every year and is an entirely different species). We’ll do what we can to try and get it as tight and even as possible and blend in the bare areas, etc. but it may not be possible to get it perfectly flat and square all the way around. And that going forward regular maintenance could help keep it under control and over time it may be possible to “train it” somewhat to adhere to a more desirable shape and fill in somewhat, but the key being regular yearly maintenance (depending how fast it grows).
I know some arborists / climbers want nothing to do with hedge work, but curious how some of you who do take on these kinds of jobs approach these situations to avoid any potential conflict with the client not being satisfied with the outcome.
