Spent a whole afternoon trying to save a 'rare' tree that was just a weed

Got a call about a sickly 'Japanese maple' in a backyard in Springfield. The homeowner was really worried, said it was a special gift. I spent about four hours checking soil, looking for pests, the whole deal. Finally, my new ground guy, fresh from a landscaping job, walks over and says, 'Hey, that's just a big Norway maple seedling.' The homeowner admitted they planted a random sapling from their woods as a joke years ago and forgot. Lost a good $300 in billable time being too polite to ask for a picture first. Anyone else ever get totally fooled by a client's plant ID?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakota_patel981mo agoMost Upvoted

Ever read that article about common plant mix-ups? It's wild how often this happens, and @piperm38 is right that it's just part of the work. At least you got a funny story out of it!

piperm381mo ago

Honestly, that's just part of the job sometimes. At least it was a funny story and not a real emergency.

jamiew531mo ago

Keep a list of the most common look-alikes on your phone. I mean, I have a note saved with pictures side by side, like poison hemlock and wild carrot. Saves so much time when someone calls in a panic. You can just pull it up and walk them through the differences. Idk, maybe it's just me but having that ready makes those mix-up calls way less stressful for everyone.