Offering money for trees!!!

ohiogrown

Mame
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Have you ever seen a great tree in someone’s landscaping or garden and offer money for it? I do a lot of interior work for people so I’m always at different houses and sometimes I see pretty good trees in peoples yard.
 

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jeanluc83

Omono
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I haven't yet but have considered. There is a bald cypress that is about 5-6" in diameter in a yard along one of my running routes. I may ask in the spring but I have a feeling the answer would be no.
 

Nwaite

Chumono
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This is why I had my wife get me a full black suit with night vision goggles....

I'm just kidding... But I am glad I didn't get in to bonsai when I was younger and didn't know better. I'd be running around town digging up trees all night in the spring time.
 

BillsBayou

Chumono
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Keep a $50 bill in your wallet at all times. You never know. Then again, maybe you can just ask and they'll let you dig it. For art.

My story: I loaded up my trailer with a large nursery container and back fill soil. I had driven past this massive boxwood for 15 years of daily commutes. It's a beauty. But here's the quirk of ownership. The tree wasn't technically in front of someone's house. It was next to the street at the end of an alley where a buried drainage pipe passed through the neighborhood. So I approached the nearest home and knocked.

A rather elderly woman answered the door. I introduced myself and my hobby. I asked her about the tree and if it was hers. She said the tree was on parish land so it wasn't hers to give. "Would you mind if I dug it up?" I asked. She replied "Well, my husband might, but he's asleep. I say 'go for it'". That was all the permission I needed. 15 minutes later, the tree was out and the hole was filled.

Well, "permission" isn't the word. It might be better to say "No one was going to call the police."

The tree has been sitting idle for a few years and is doing great. I normally do videos on bald cypress. Maybe I'll do a video of this one. I'm going to need a hoist to get it out of its pot. A hoist, and a dozen cinch straps to protect the bark.

For reference, the trailer is 4'x8'

BoxwoodInTrailer01.jpg BoxwoodInTrailer02.jpg
 

BigBen

Shohin
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I actually JUST began doing that as well.
I sell HVAC equipment, so I'm in several houses every day.

So, as I'm looking around the yard for equipment placement, I also scope-out their landscape for prospects.
Haven't seen anything eye-popping just YET, but I'm certain that I WILL!
 

BillsBayou

Chumono
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Story two: One October, some years back, I was dropping my daughter off at a friends house. They had just moved in and were doing landscaping. I asked about the big boxwood hedge. They were tearing it out. I asked if they would be willing to wait until February,and I'd dig the hedge out for free. The hedge was 11 feet long, 3 feet wide, 4 feet high, and was made up of just 5 boxwoods. That was a great haul.

Spring is a great time to redo the landscape. I work in a high-income area of homes. I'm always ready to pick up a stack of nursery pots left at the curb, or pick through a mound of bushes that have been excavated. Just keep your eyes open and the universe will deliver.
 
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