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”