BEEGLE LANDSCAPING & LAWN CARE

"When I met with the customer we discussed a few options for plants that would grow under the walnut trees. She was aware that walnut trees have a caustic root system and knew there were only a few select plants that would grow there. Her intent was to create a vegetative screen between her back yard and her neighbor. I have had success planting arborvitae around walnuts in the past and felt confident that this tree would be the right fit. It is also state approved for this purpose. I was very surprised when she called back to say that the trees had died, so I called the local extension agent to help define the problem and to be sure there was not something that we did to create the problem. The extension agent took a sample of the root system to the Va. Tech. lab and was able to conclude overwatering was likely the culprit. The homeowner’s husband confirmed to me that he had watered the plants several times after they were installed. The extension agent did not find fault in how the plants were installed, so this was not a workmanship issue. We do guarantee for 1 year all trees and shrubs will be planted according to state mandated planting procedures. However, when things kill plants that are not in our control, we have no responsibility to replace plants at our expense. This plant is recommended by the state list as well as the extension office for planting under walnut trees. At the customers urging and our hope to find a suitable solution, we agreed to plant the hedge again offering free labor if she agreed to pay for the plants. We were not obligated to offer free labor but did this in hopes of having a happy customer in the end. Since the trees have died again, with the exception of two, I can only assume the walnut trees are the problem, but I don't know this for sure as I have had success with this in the past. There could also be issues in the soil that the trees cannot handle, I have no solution here and can find no information thru extension services or otherwise that would explain why these trees died. I do know that they were planted properly. I would also express that my wife and I spent countless hours researching possibilities but came to no known conclusion of how this happened. Having been in the landscaping industry for over 20 years, I pride myself on finding solutions that work to the customers benefit. I regret that I was not able to find the appropriate solution to her needs but I feel very confident that the trees started out healthy and were planted properly. We tried everything we could to satisfy this customer and can find no fault in our services for why the trees died. I might add that this is the first negative report on any listing that I am aware of since starting my business in 2000. In fact we have received Best Of awards two years running in our county for the quality of our work. All of this being said, in the interest of trying to satisfy a customer complaint, we did issue a refund for the 8 trees that died. This included the price of the trees only, since we provided free labor to install the second set of trees. We respectfully hope that this satisfies the customer complaint."