April Lunch and Learn: Stop Pruning Malpractice with a Prescription
Description:
Improper pruning is one of the most common—and preventable—issues affecting tree health and structure. While the ANSI A300 Pruning Standard provides a framework for tree care, vague or incomplete pruning specifications often leave too much interpretation to the production arborist, leading to practices such as lion-tailing, excessive thinning, and topping.
This webinar explores how unclear pruning prescriptions contribute to poor outcomes and how arborists can improve results through more precise, objective-based pruning specifications. Participants will learn how to translate client concerns and tree conditions into clear instructions that align the prescriber, the production arborist, and the tree owner.
The session will also introduce key concepts from the Prescription Pruning Qualification (PPQ) program, including how measurable pruning instructions—such as cut number, size, type, and location—can improve communication, reduce liability, and produce more consistent tree care outcomes.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
Recognize how unclear pruning specifications contribute to pruning malpractice
Understand the role of the ANSI A300 Pruning Standard in writing pruning prescriptions
Identify the key elements of a clear and effective pruning specification
Translate customer concerns and tree conditions into practical pruning objectives
Improve communication between prescribing and production arborists
Who Should Attend
ISA Certified Arborists, municipal arborists, urban foresters, consulting arborists, tree care company managers, and production arborists responsible for writing or implementing pruning specifications.
About the Speakers:
Kristoffer Rasmussen is a CTSP, ISA Urban Forest Professional, Florida ISA Chapter Prescription Pruning Coordinator, TCIA Accreditation Auditor and serves on the TCI Magazine Editorial Advisor Committee
1 ISA CEU applied for.