Proper Pruning Promotes Healthy Trees

Michael Zimmerman posted on August 10, 2010 10:25

As you drive around South Florida you see many commercial properties, municipalities, home owner associations, and other residential areas trimming their trees in preparation for our annual storm season. The most common and professionally accepted pruning practices are thinning, cleaning, raising and reducing. These are defined in the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) A300 Standards for Tree Care Operations as follows.

Thin: Selective pruning to reduce density of live branches.
Clean: Selective pruning to remove one or more of the following parts: dead, diseased, and/or broken 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).

These pruning standards have been developed to provide a guideline for professional arborists to follow. When properly executed, pruning will not only help prepare the trees for potential storms but can also improve the health of the trees.

Just as proper pruning promotes healthy trees, improper pruning weakens trees and destroys branch structure. The ANSI A300 standards includes a very specific advisory notice that identifies improper pruning.

Advisory Notice: Topping and Lion's Tailing are not acceptable pruning practices! Over-thinning (rooster-tailing) of palms is not an acceptable pruning practice. Topping - the reduction of a tree's size using heading cuts that shorten limbs or branches back to a predetermined crown limit, or Lion’s Tailing - the removal of an excessive number of inner, lateral branches from parent branches – can injure trees and are not considered normal pruning practices!

Be aware of who is pruning your trees and how they are pruning them. Many municipalities have code enforcement officials that have become more active in inspecting tree work. Some even have city foresters that dedicated to enforcing local pruning codes. If an inspector or city forester sees improper tree pruning they may cite you. The citation could be a warning, require you to replace a tree or even include a hefty fine for each improperly pruned tree.

Educate yourself on proper tree pruning practices. Contact a Certified Arborist for suggestions. Hire a reputable tree care company. Enjoy happy healthy trees and avoid spending extra money on fines!

ANSI Standards Promote Healthy Trees:

http://www.ansi.org/news_publications/media_tips/tree.aspx?menuid=7

ANSI A300 Standards for the Professional Arborist:

http://www.tcia.org/standards/Part1/Pruning.htm

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