What to charge for hedges?

[baldbeefman]

How do you guys charge for hedges? First time shaping, and maintenance. I have a customer who wants me to "shape" about 40 hedges that have weeds growing out of the top of them. I was thinking of laying a tarp or two down while I cut to catch the leaves. Will definately be a pain. I cleaned them up some with my electric edger and pulled some of the weeds out. Now the weeds are growing out the top again and the hedges look ok (except for darn weeds) but could be better. I was thinking of buying a stick hedge trimmer (Shindaiwa) and getting fancy. Any suggestions? For some reason my search isn't working.

[kris]

first time jobs like that I always charge hourly rate ...so much per man hour ...2 man crew.... I try to estimate the amount of time for them to give them a general idea of the cost....works for me

[KirbysLawn]

I charge by the man hour.

[CSRA Landscaping]

Please, please, please, go with the tarps. Don't leave trimmings all over the place, that looks sooo trashy.

[Fantasy Lawns]

if your going to continue with hedging ...get a nice small gas power to start with .....hourly rate on any hedging job ....even routine work (which includes clean up n' dump if no area to unload the mess).....we rake it out onto the grass or cement (on to a tarp) than blow back in the small little stuff that always hangs around ....then suggest a mulch job to finish it .....Good Luck :->

[B & S Lawn Care]

do you just tell the customer outright your hourly rate or is the best way to estimate the time you'll take?

[KirbysLawn]

I do it either way. It will be $35 per man hour x 5 man hours. Or... it will be $175 for us to do the job. Depends.

[CSRA Landscaping]

That's funny, Ray.

[Likestomow]

I am assuming you mean bushes, because 40 hedges would make for a rather large estate.

I charge $3 to trim a medium bush, $5 for a large one, and $10 for an extra large one that I have to use an extended hedge trimmer on or a ladder.

Customers usually wait as long as possible to have me do the first trimming, but I stick to my prices, because once the initial clip is done, subsequent ones will not be so hard.

Thursday I did 26 bushes @ $3 each in about 15 (fast and hard) minutes. Personally, I would never bid this type of job by the hour - the customer would swallow very hard and say "forget it".<G> By the piece seems more benign.

[CSRA Landscaping]

A question for all of you seasoned veterans ... how often do you trim shrubs at your properties? I find myself doing it every week.

[kris]

Jeff.... I am by no means a seasoned veteran in maintenance(only 2 years)...landscape construction for over 24 years..but...trimming shrubs every week seems extreme...3x a season tops...

[1MajorTom]

how often do you trim shrubs at your properties? I find myself doing it every week.

Wow, we must live in a el cheapo area because we do our hedges twice a season on our more prestigious lawns, and once usually in June for the others.
There would be no way in heck, any of our customers would pay to have their hedges trimmed weekly. Hedges down there must be juiced with some growth hormone, because hedges up here don't grow enough to need trimmed every week.

[CSRA Landscaping]

Ok, ok. Someone near me, please tell me what you do for your hedges on your weekly maintenance areas, like your townhouses, etc.
I'm near Augusta, Ga.

[cutting edge]

Jeff,
I have some customers that I maintain every other week and this spring some of the shrubs have needed pruning on every visit.

[65hoss]

CSRA, do you have a contract with them that spells this out or do they pay you for this service as you do it? :confused:

[CSRA Landscaping]

Eric, they pay for my service as I go. I don whatever I see needs to be done on the grounds and whatever else they ask to be done.

[baldbeefman]

The only problem is I have one row that is probably 75' long and all connected. Would I just count them from the base and charge accordingly, even though there connected?

[jnjnlc]

I usually charge per man hour to trim shrubs and do clean ups.


Wow, trim shrubs every week. We usually trim two may three times a year. I did have one customer who wanted them trimmed every week and I told him no way. They do not grow that fast.

[lawnman_scott]

I do the hedges at the nice properties about once a month, once a week seems extreme to me, well so does once a year. How much do you guys cut off if you only do them once a year?

[smburgess]

CSRA...

Of course different shrubs have different growth cycles and patterns. We tend to prune an average of three times per season. I would love to be able to take the time on a weekly basis to "clean" them up. They would look great ALL season. Some of you guys that are pruning ONCE a season, man they have got to look like s*** for a long time before you prune.

[yellowpages77]

Hello all: After working for a company. Now I have my own company. I learned some other peoples mistakes. I charge by the hour. first time job. $40.00 dls per man hours. I make a house to look great. I always make a new customer. If you are going to trim bushes every week hahaha what a joke is that???.$ 3.00 per bush wow tell me if you live in seatlle I hire you hehehe you are chipper tan my labor babe =)Ron

[CSRA Landscaping]

yp77,
Quite frankly, I didn't ask what you thought of me doing that every week, I asked how often you all were trimming. I think that you're thinking of cutting them back when I say trimming whenm in all actuality, it's just knocking the stringers of of the bushes. Sure makes 'em look good, and it keeps my customers very happy. I'll tell you what, if I see that the shrubs need trimming, that's an in for me. And what business is it of yours to laugh at Likestomow for what he charges?
We're here to help one another, not to laugh at other people when we think that we can make ourselves look like something high and mighty.
My advice to you: unless you like making enemies, come down off of your high horse and be a real person.

[luckylawnboy]

$3 for small knee high
$5 medium waist hight
$8 large chest high

[curlawngreen]

I trim the shoots off every week. 5 min. per hundred feet. Clip and leave them.No fuss no mess places look great. There is no in for my compitition.Mow edge string trim trim hedges blow off and go. 35 min. per yard. Or you can drag your tarp around all day RESHAPING your hedges.

[Grassman]

Depends on the type of hedges or shrubs. We trimm ilex shilling and viburnum every week during spring and summer. I figure approximatly how many times over the year it will need to be done, divide the cost by 12 and bill the customer each month for total service. Most customers like to have a set amount billed each month and it's easier for us too. Russ

[ProMo]

[LawnMowerMan2003]

Some hedges would be a PITA to try to trim every week, especially if you have a difficult time reaching them, and it woudn't be worth trying to trim 1 inch off of large hedges that are difficult to reach and to all the way around the property, when they really only need trimming about every 3 months or so. I think once a year would end up taking at least twice as long, with alot of crap to get rid of, and would start to look like crap after 6 months.