Call some local nurseries to price out the trees. They can give you an estimate over the phone since you know what size and type of tree you need.

I was going to do that but was told not to by a neighbor because they tried doing the same thing and the local nurseries would not give them quotes

Yes. That is outrageous pricing! Go physically to a few nurseries including "Mom" and "Pop" owned ones. You'll be ale to get a better idea of what your pricing should be. They probably will have the sizes you need, if they don't, they probably would be able to get them for you. You can plant them yourself or if your'e restricted from that, see if the nursery would have someone able to help you plant for much less cost.

A neighbor told you not to, so you didn’t.

Sounds to me like your builder and the landscaper have got a pretty good gig going on here.

I know nothing of tree prices... but dang, 2500 for a regular ole tree seems pretty steep to me.

Boring live oak? Surely you jest!

A six inch caliper tree is a BIG tree requiring specialized delivery vehicles and planting equipment. Does this fee also include maintenance and a warranty (ie the tree is guaranteed a year for example)

I suspect that the cost depends on the time and place. During the Coronavirus panic things will cost more. If you are in New York City things will cost more.

For reference, we put a Nuttal Oak in our front yard about 10 years ago and it cost $550, delivered about 25 miles from the nursery and planted by the company

I paid $1,500.00 for a 20' tall oak in Michigan nearly 20 years ago. No tree shortage there.

Where I live you can get tree insurance as part of your home insurance . Why not ask your insurance company what is covered that should give you a rough idea of value.. I do think this is high but I have no idea what things cost in Fla. I will never live or build where there is an HOA .

I find this very wrong on several counts. I don't live in FL (conditions could be different), but there is NO shortage of trees here! As a landscape professional myself, I too am surprised the requirement for 6" caliper trees. That is an excessively mature/large specimen for a new residential planting - much harder to plant and much longer to establish than smaller, easier to handle ones. I seldom ever encounter specs for trees of that size for municipal plantings.....never for a homeowner, HOA or not!

As to actual pricing, it may not be all that far off considering the size specified. Here, a 6" caliper tree runs $975-1125. Planting can be as much as 75% of the tree cost so that ups the price to ~ $1600-2000. Plus delivery.

If you can convince the HOA that a smaller caliper tree is better in the long run and far more economical, you should be able to reduce that cost by about 60-75%.

A six inch caliper tree is a BIG tree requiring specialized delivery vehicles and planting equipment. Does this fee also include maintenance and a warranty (ie the tree is guaranteed a year for example)

Exactly what I was going to say. You're not talking about a sapling you can tote home in your pick-up truck and plant with nothing more than your shovel. This is going to be quite a large tree.

I hope that for this price you're getting more than a one-year guarantee -- be sure of this and keep your paperwork. As someone else said, larger /more mature trees are more likely to die.

How many trees does the HOA require? Have your builder plant the minimum number, then fill in with other inexpensive plants you buy /plant yourself.

The biggest tree we can plant without mechanized equipment is a 4" caliper, and nowadays they're digging such big rootballs even those are marginal. So for a minimum 3 person crew, plus a machine that can lift at least 1800-2500 lbs, plus an expensive field grown tree, that wouldn't be out of line where I am. Tree prices tend to have a pretty hefty jump from 3 to 4 inch, and a really big jump from 4 to 6.

"During the Coronavirus panic things will cost more." The law of supply and demand is always in force. Masks and ventilators cost more. But things that people are not using -- gasoline, for example -- has gone down substantially. (We should remember for the future how to make this happen!)

Does not sound out of bounds for that size tree.

You guys are all awesome. Thank you so much! If anyone has any specific research articles on why 6 caliper is not as good for a new build by all means would appreciate the info! I have no idea if the trees will be warrantied but thanks to you all I will now ask. I can understand $1500-$1800 for the tree/delivery/planting but yes $2500 is just too much.

some random info for you ...

a tree is said to have a root mass as big.. if not twice as big ... in mass ....as the tree you see above ground ...

no matter how big the machine is.. imagine how much of that root mass is cut off in the digging process ... ergo.. it could take a number of years.. for it to regrow that root mass ...

the most important year.. is the first year after planting.. so it is not uncommon to have a one year warranty ...

following that logic.. the smaller the tree.. the lesser the root loss.. and the easier the whole transplanting process can be.. in terms of stress ... and it is suggested that a smaller transplant can outgrow a larger transplant inside of 5 years or so ... when we talk of trees.. we talk in terms of decades ... not a season or two... many huge transplant just seem to sit there for years.. while they regrow the roots lost ...

and after it is all done.. PROPER deep watering is the key to success ... and that can not be accomplished by the usual lawn irrigation ... you will have to study this... and take responsibility for the watering .. warranty or not ... below is a link that discusses such ... and the whole process of transplanting ...

also.. price is what the market will carry ... and its usually very regional ... shop around.. and you will probably find a better price... but dont sacrifice quality or warranty to save a few bucks ...

welcome to the forums

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

the landscaper that is contracted with my builder. You might want to look into how much wiggle room if any that you have. Do you have the option to use another contractor, etc.

Also, Florida is a big state, where are you. how many trees do you need?

Urban Forestry Works is west of Daytona Beach. They have DD Blanchards, check them out.

These are sizeable trees and you are paying for manpower, equipment and travel time. If you need 2 or 3 trees I see nothing wrong with @ $2500 but if you want 20 trees spend some time, ask questions and shop around. What are the others in the HOA doing?

Is this installed cost?

If yes I'd considered this relatively cheap.

The issue is that 6" caliper is being specified.

The rate of success is much lower with this tree size. In addition it doesn't recover for years.

From this perspective the intent of the HOA is spoiled but not having someone with experience making the rules. Otherwise they have a stake in the e landscape company as there are more hours/labor associated with this size tree.

As you see I'm in zone 5 - experenced with several oaks species but not Live Oak. However the genus produces a deep tap root. When you severe this in such a large tree let me say good luck - better have a 2 year warranty. The couple Oaks I planted that where 1.5" caliper (which is the largest Oak I'd plant) are still only hitting 1/3 growth rate 3 years later.

Most HOAs specify 2" caliper BTW. Anything above 3" is absolutely silly quite possibliy insane.

Are you sure of the size? Is there any flexibility? Our tree replacement plan also called for specific sizes and this was based by our municipal rules. But when push came together shove some of them were cost prohibitive and hard to find so the municipality let us get smaller versions no problem.

Yes: you aren't buying trees by themselves you are buying an entire project with each tree - one that involves pickup, delivery, site prep, installation and cleanup. So as other posters have explained $2500 per tree probably ain't so high after all.

Go back and read your contract and double check the specifics regarding landscaping.

This might be a dumb question but....

Is it your HOA that is requiring that particular size and kind of tree? Or is it the landscaper/contractor doing this?

Landscape professional here. That cost is not outside of the realm of possibilities for what is apparently required by your HOA (which seems excessive, IMO). A quick check with one of my local nurseries and the tree alone is $1k+. As @Embothrium noted, much more goes into planting a tree, especially of that size, aside from digging a hole and plopping it into the ground. I can't speak to the tree shortage, however. In my experience, we are not having that issue where I am located (Midwest).

On the tree shortage, you are at the end of past the end of the season to plant trees in Florida. (With enough water you can plant anytime but) so I think the shortage may just be due to the fact that most people plant trees in the winter and the supply houses are switching to other products now as it is warming up. Just a guess.

Regardless , if you think it’s too much call another landscaper. Get an apples to apples comparison so you know , maybe it is too high, maybe it isn’t.

Wonder what other surprises your HOA has in store for you?

I wonder how many trees are required and how big the lot is. Most new construction these days is close to zero lot lines and planting Live Oak in a subdivision like that is a disaster in the making that is going to cost big bucks in the near future. I would not plant a Live Oak unless the property was at least half an acre. if oak and magnolia are your only choices, go with the magnolia.

Someone else needs to run for head of the landscaping committee of this HOA.

We have about eight live oaks that we bought about 25 years ago when we bought our place. Paid about $25 each and brought them home/planted them ourselves. Of course now they are huge. Plus every few years we have to have them trimmed (HOA will "remind" us) for about another $5K. Ongoing money pit. My next place will just have palms.

A 45-gallon live oak is about $500 and that is the size we recommend in our Florida HOA. A 6" caliper is a ridiculous request on the part of your HOA. Takes tons of water to establish that tree which will come wrapped in burlap and has a better chance of failing after being planted.

This tree will easily spread to 40 ft. across and should not be planted near any foundation, driveway or street because the roots can be a problem.

I would not install a Magnolia in my yard. We had a few around here and they went down in the last hurricane.

Here's something landscapers don't request very often but they grow like crazy and can tolerate the hurricanes Royal Poinciana in Red or Yellow. They bloom for months.

Honestly, the easiest tree and best-priced trees are Sabal Palms native to Florida. You can order them by the flatbed truckload for about $70 apiece with 10ft of trunk (not installed) Don't order any palms that need to be trimmed like Queens. There are plenty of self-pruning palm trees to select from.

Not to be pedantic, but palms aren’t trees, they are more closely related to grass. There is a place for them in the landscape but they don’t replace shade trees.

The U of F has done a great deal of research on all aspects of trees. I'll attach a link to a brief explanation on tree establishment, the third paragraph is pertinent.

I also urge you to look up the fact sheets cited on the list on the left of the page.

Tree Establishment and much more

Yes our HOA is insane. They are requesting 10 of these (6' caliper hardwoods) on my property based on square footage of my property. And no my contract says none of the trees or plants are warrantied!

My property is a little less than an acre BTW.

following

I would not install a Magnolia in my yard. We had a few around here and they went down in the last hurricane.

And on the other hand when I was in college in the 1970's at one point a guy from Louisiana was living in the dorm room across the hall. Previously he had been renting a room in a 200 year old mansion in LA when a big blow came through. It was so intense it blew all the leaves off the magnolia - but that tree remained standing.

Whereas the two live oaks that were on the same site both went over. I got the impression these oaks were similar to the house in age.

Otherwise if you look there are web pages up that talk about how specific Gulf States tree species do in hurricanes.