They chopped my Agave in half!!

March 28, 2006 8:55 AM

What steps do I take to get a 20 year old Agave cactus replaced that my newly-hired landscaper chose to trim?

I had "Mr. X" come out to give me a bid on doing some landscaping in my backyard. We discussed cleaning up the perimeter area, adding a drip system, weed deterant, rocks and plants of my choosing. On Saturday we agreed that he'd start work on Monday (yesterday). I'd told him which plants I wanted removed. On Sunday I went out and bought several plants to be planted and placed them where I wanted them planted.

I went home at lunch yesterday and all was well except Mr. X had chosen to trim my Agave Augustifolia Marginata cactus! I've had this plant for close to 20 years. Last summer I re-potted it in a larger pot (think really big) so it would have room to continue to grow. I was shocked at what I saw and called him immediately to ask about it. He said he'd had his workers there and they must have done it. At the time I figured Oh Well, but the more I thought about it last night the madder I got. The plant did not need trimming and it was not something we'd discussed. The plant is now about 1/2 the size it was and I want it replaced or compensation.

Do I ask for a full-size replacement or compensation taken out of the estimate amount, or...?

posted by SoftSummerBreeze to home & garden (8 comments total)

Compensation for a full sized-replacement (that way you get to choose the specimine)...noting that the cactus is now worthless despite 20 years of care, because its aesthetic value has been destroyed. And that before employees cut into rare and valuable specimines, they need to be sure that they have permission to do so.
posted by mrmojoflying at 9:28 AM on March 28, 2006

Pardon my horticultural ignorance, but does trimming it kill it? If not, I'd just ask for compensation in the form of a reduced landscaping bill. Hopefully, Mr. X will want to retain you as a customer and will comply with your request.
posted by chiababe at 9:29 AM on March 28, 2006

No, the trimming will not kill it, but it has been taken from a very impressive cactus to something much less than that. In time... like a year or more... it will start to resemble its former self. But the idea was to improve the visual appearance of my much neglected yard, not take things that were fine to begin with and make them look worse.

A picture of what my Agave used to look like can be found here -

Remove the bottom half and that's what I've got left. Not pretty.
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 9:36 AM on March 28, 2006

Hmm... trying that link again... www.cactustropicalgarden.com/photos/succ/0034.html
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 9:37 AM on March 28, 2006

I can't give you any specifics on what to do, but wow. What kind of idiot cuts into a plant like that? Absolutely yes, demand compensation.
posted by thirteenkiller at 9:44 AM on March 28, 2006

The buck stops with the boss-man. You are paying his overhead and profit, rather than hiring a few laborers yourself because, presumably, he's taking responsibility for making sure the job gets done right. It didn't get done right.
posted by Good Brain at 10:31 AM on March 28, 2006

What Good Brain said. It's his responsibility to supervise his workers, and trying to pass the buck was cheap of him. Ask him how he wants to fix this. I suspect he'll offer to adjust the cost of the job.

However, if you haven't been invoiced yet, you now have to worry that he's going to inflate the actual cost from what was estimated, so go over the invoice with a fine-tooth comb and make sure that his costs are not out of line.
posted by desuetude at 11:18 AM on March 28, 2006

Ask for a full-sized replacement. You will not be happy with anything else, and perhaps the dumb landscaper can get one wholesale somewhere. If he refuses to make good the damage, take him to small claims court. It's not like a bad haircut... your agave might never get its shape back, depending on how brutal a chopping they gave it.

Also, invoke the cactus gods. They can settle his hash in their own way.
posted by Scram at 11:31 PM on March 28, 2006