ANSI A300 (Part 1) - 2008 Pruning
This part of the A300 standards applies to pruning and trimming operations. Part 1 Pruning addresses:
- Pruning practices
- Pruning objectives (includes vista/view enhancement and structural enhancement)
- Pruning methods (types)
- Palm pruning
- Utility pruning
A300 Pruning standards recognize four basic pruning methods for pruning:
- Clean: Selective pruning to remove one or more of the following parts: dead, diseased, and/or broken branches.
- Thin: Selective pruning to reduce density of live branches
- Raise: Selective pruning to provide vertical clearance.
- Reduce: Selective pruning to decrease height and/or spread (consideration must be given to the ability of a species to tolerate reduction pruning).
Advisory Notice:
Certain pruning practices are not acceptable and can injure trees:
- Topping: The reduction of a tree's size using heading cuts that shorten limbs or branches back to a predetermined crown limit
- Lion's Tailing:The removal of an excessive number of inner, lateral branches from parent branches
- Rooster-Tailing: The over-thinning of palms.
Part 1 Pruning Resources:
- Download the “How to Write Pruning Specifications” flow chart
- Download the “Pruning Specification Writing Guidelines and Samples”
