Overheard a landscaper call a Bradford pear a 'good shade tree' and I almost choked

I was grabbing a coffee yesterday and the guys at the next table were planning a big job for a new subdivision. One of them, not an arborist, said they were planting a row of Bradford pears because they're 'fast growing and make good shade.' I had to physically stop myself from turning around. We all know those things are basically ticking time bombs with their weak structure and terrible smell. It made me think about how often bad tree advice gets passed around by well meaning people in other trades. Has anyone else had to gently correct a landscaper or client on a choice like that?

5 comments

5 Comments

fionanguyen2mo ago

It's like that with so many things... people just repeat what they've heard without knowing the real problems.

kevin_williams2mo ago

My old boss used to quote business books he never read. I'd nod along, then go home and google the summaries so I could fake it the next day. I was the exact problem he was talking about.

caleb_bell517d ago

Yeah that's rough. We've all been there though, pretending we know something we don't. Keeps things moving I guess.

kai_ramirez382mo ago

I get what you mean fionanguyen but sometimes hearing it from others is how people start to learn.

blake_kelly1917d ago

One time I had a customer who kept telling me his car was making a "funny noise" and then described it as "kind of a whirring, maybe a clicking" and I spent three hours chasing down something that turned out to be a loose heat shield... he heard some dude at a gas station say it was probably the transmission. People latch onto the first thing they hear and run with it.