[Chris Heiler]

I'd like to get some input from the independent landscape designers and landscape architects in the forum regarding warranties. Especially the designers who also act as general contractor.

I consider myself an independent designer and I also act as general contractor on many projects. I offer my clients a standard one year warranty on plants and expect my landscape contractor to do the same.

I'm considering dropping this standard warranty. I've always thought warranties on plants were ridiculous. I know design/build firms (I've worked for them) put large markups on plants partly to cover warranty issues. I'd prefer to offer my clients a better price on plantings and NO warranty.

I was speaking with a designer in England about warranty issues and his comment was basically, "I don't know why the hell you Americans feel the need to warranty plants. It makes no sense".

So where do you designers stand on this issue? Are any of you in my situation and NOT offering a warranty?

And please, do not respond by saying "Everyone else offers a warranty, so we have to also if we want the job".

Thanks!

[secondnature]

Hi Chris,

I am a Landscape Designer only, residential.

When I work with DIY's I almost always provide the plant material for my jobs. My plant pricing is competitive with good higher end nurseries (I do not compete with Home Depot!) and I charge a delivery fee (getting higher and higher as the days go by!).

I do not warranty the plant material, and say so on my paperwork. I explain that I cannot as I am not in control of the environment that they are placed in (whether they get the ultimate care they need before/after planting). I also state that if they notice a problem after the "grace" period where plants can be in shock, then please give me a call so we can diagnose the problem and be proactive from that direction.

Most folks do not have an issue with that.

No one has ever challenged me on the warranty. I let them know that some loss is always a possibility.

Even when I work with installers, they will often just let me supply the plant material. Only occassionally will they prefer to provide plant material also. They will warranty the material if they provide and install.

If there are trees that are more $$ to the client, I will suggest that the installer provide and plant them. Costs my client much more, but covers the installer should they get a call back to replace.

[Fine Edge]

There are too many issues that can affect the overall health of the plants after they are installed. I'm thinking about dropping our warranty for that very reason. Maybe 1 - 2 months of warranty at the max.
Since we don't offer maintenance on any of our installs, it just isn't worth it for us.
Why should we have to worry about the plants for an entire year when we know they were delivered in high quality condition, planted correctly, planted in proper soil conditions? The nurseries where we get our stock spend considerable time keeping up with these plants to insure their good health. Are my clients going to spend that much time? Do they know what to look for as far as insect damage, mites, fungus?
If they have a maintenance company, are they qualified to identify and control every disease?
I guess the point is, I am going to do everything I can possibly do to give the plants the best chances for survival at time of planting. After that, the client needs to be able to protect their investment one way or another. There's too many factors out there that might come into play within the years time.
Who was that first guy that started this whole warranty thing anyways? Let's go get him!

Just my 2 cents ( maybe 1 cent ) from a company that doesn't do the maintenance but will give the best install possible.

[Stonehenge]

Chris, I'm not sure I can extract your disclaimer, because some of the things we do are done because it's expected, and not doing them may hurt our ability to sell.

That being said, I think a plant guarantee would be a lot like an OB offering a guarantee on our children. You know, no physical or character flaws within the first 24 months or we get our money back or a free replacement. When they deliver the baby he or she is usually in pretty good condition, and whether the child stays that way is dependent on the parenting. But there's no guarantee. And a kid is certainly more complicated than a tree.

Every once in awhile we'll get a client with 3-4 dead large caliper trees, who tells me as we're replacing them - "Yeah, we had lots of rain but the things were turning yellow. So I kept the water on them to make sure they survived, but it still didn't help." This is usually being said over the audible SLURP! we hear as we pull the rootball from the brown soup it's sitting in. Then I just grin and bear it.

Doesn't happen too often, thankfully.

[Terre]

Because the primary part of my business is plants, I do guarantee, but only under specific conditions. If I select the plant, if I approve or install the watering, AND if the client signs a maintenance contract.

It gives me a good deal of control over the environment my plants are in, AND it sells maintenance, where I can tell quickly if there is a problem and determine the cause. That has saved me frequently, letting me replace one or two plants, and adjust conditions as needed.

This year I am adding a couple of disclaimers regarding idiot homeowners who think they can tweak the sprinkler timers without me knowing.