Japanese Maple - Value & Replacement

[TonyU]

On Superbowl Sunday a drunk driver crashed into our Japanese Maple tree (I believe it was a Bloodgood), destroying it. We were heartbroken as the tree was unbelievably gorgeous, especially in the fall. It was the primary feature of our lawn and held so many memories. We're still getting over its loss. This whole situation has been very disheartening and everyone says, "It's just a tree". I know that's true, but it is still hard to deal with.

We are in the process of dealing with insurance companies and trying to find a replacement tree. The Japanese Maple which we lost was about 28 years old and stood over 20 feet tall. When checking locally, I can't find anyone who has access to a tree taller than 10 feet.

I've spent the last week trying to find a tree and get a second estimate but no one has been able to give me a price for a tree anywhere close to the size of what we lost. Can anyone lead me in the right direction for where I can get a valuation of a 20+ foot tall, 25+ year old Bloodgood Japanese Maple and/or help me find a tree to replace ours?

 

[Conquistador3]

For once the insurance company is right: $15,900 for a Japanese maple is indeed outrageous!

The reasons you won't find many maples taller than 10ft for sale are very simple.
First, transporting and moving around a 15-20ft tall tree is no joke, at least if you want to deliver it to the customer without too much damage.
Second, transplanting large, mature trees is no laughing matter and first year mortality is far higher than most customers can deal with, especially given the price attached. Mature trees are big $$$.
Has your landscaper warned you about the possibilities of your new ultra-expensive maple dying within a year or being delivered with broken branches and a damaged trunk? I bet he hasn't, very few ever do.

Personally these days I refuse to plant any tree taller than 3-4ft. Too much wasted money and too many quarrels with taller trees. They are not worth it.

Now let's talk about prices. A 3-4ft tall Bloodgood (the size I'd recommend you for planting) is usually around $100-150 + taxes according to the area. Which would make the insurance company very happy.
However on top of that they'd also have to pay to have the old tree completely removed (stump included) and the new tree planted and cared for at least until it's well established, meaning three-four years. That's a quote you can only get locally, as prices vary wildly according to area. Don't be afraid to have one company do the digging and another supplying the tree: I've found that company providing "all around" service tend to supply inferior quality trees unless you breath on their neck constantly and demand to see the trees before they plant them.

 

[rbtree]

Find a consulting arborist in your area that is qualified to provide an appraisal on the tree. I agree that over $15 k for that tree is excessive, but it is worth a lot more than $1100, plus other costs, if it's really 20 feet tall. I think the fact that it has three trunks instead of one also reduces its specimen value...

 

[Jason Douglas]

Bloodgood is the most common and least expensive cultivar but finding a big on will be very expensive.

These trees do appraise quite highly but I'm personally more a fan of using the removal and replacement valuation system rather than trunk area method as tree values can exceed the value of a property when a tree is large enough.

Use the Find an Arborist feature on the ISA site and go from there.

 

[vbx]

The purpose of insurance is to replace / repair what was originally damaged/ stolen to make you whole.

Replacing a 20ft tree with a skimpy 3ft tree is LOL ridiculous.

I'd expect these greedy insurance to replace it with a similar tree. if it 15k so be it. Bloodgood are slow growers. A 25ft tree will be expensive.

 

[wc120792]

For once the insurance company is right: $15,900 for a Japanese maple is indeed outrageous!

The reasons you maples taller than 10ft for sale are very simple.
First, transporting and moving around a 15-20ft tall tree is no joke, at least if you want to deliver it to the customer without too much damage.
Second, transplanting large, mature trees is no laughing matter and first year mortality is far higher than most customers can deal with, especially given the price attached. Mature trees are big $$$.
Has your landscaper warned you about the possibilities of your new ultra-expensive maple dying within a year or being delivered with broken branches and a damaged trunk? I bet he hasn't, very few ever do.

Personally these days I refuse to plant any tree taller than 3-4ft. Too much wasted money and too many quarrels with taller trees. They are not worth it.

Now let's talk about prices. A 3-4ft tall Bloodgood (the size I'd recommend you for planting) is usually around $100-150 + taxes according to the area. Which would make the insurance company very happy.
However on top of that they'd also have to pay to have the old tree completely removed (stump included) and the new tree planted and cared for at least until it's well established, meaning three-four years. That's a quote you can only get locally, as prices vary wildly according to area. Don't be afraid to have one company do the digging and another supplying the tree: I've found that company providing "all around" service tend to supply inferior quality trees unless you breath on their neck constantly and demand to see the trees before they plant them.

On Superbowl Sunday a drunk driver crashed into our Japanese Maple tree (I believe it was a Bloodgood), destroying it. We were heartbroken as the tree was unbelievably gorgeous, especially in the fall. It was the primary feature of our lawn and held so many memories. We're still getting over its loss. This whole situation has been very disheartening and everyone says, "It's just a tree". I know that's true, but it is still hard to deal with.

We are in the process of dealing with insurance companies and trying to find a replacement tree. The Japanese Maple which we lost was about 28 years old and stood over 20 feet tall. When checking locally, I can't find anyone who has access to a tree taller than 10 feet.

I've spent the last week trying to find a tree and get a second estimate but no one has been able to give me a price for a tree anywhere close to the size of what we lost. Can anyone lead me in the right direction for where I can get a valuation of a 20+ foot tall, 25+ year old Bloodgood Japanese Maple and/or help me find a tree to replace ours?

I have a Japanese maple tree in my yard that is 30 years old and over 20 ft tall. I have been trying to sell it. Are you still looking for one?

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I have a Japanese maple tree in my yard that is 30 years old and over 20 ft tall. I have been trying to sell it. Are you still looking for one?

This comes to mind...

 

[jzack605]

Not sure where you are located, but a few nurseries in NY specialize in larger specimen trees. Marders and Warrens are the two main ones. They’re in a pretty niche market where they can sell them (Hamptons) and they are by no means inexpensive. They both have excellent success rates with transplanting these large trees; 20’ is small compared to some of the others. Given the time it takes to developer mature trees for nursery growth, dig and transplant I’m not sure it actually is excessive price wise for a 20’ j maple to be upwards of $10,000+.