Grades and Standards
for Nursery Stock
by Edward F. Gilman, professor
Environmental Horticulture Department
IFAS
University of Florida
http://hort.ufl.edu/woody/planting
Florida grades and standards
1955 Passed by
Florida legislature;
1965 first edition printed

Developed for more
accurate communication
between buyer/seller


1998 – second edition; a 10 step process
for trees
Grading trees


Tree quality at planting can have
a great impact on longevity in the
landscape
Four grades exist for nursery
plants in Florida. These include:
-Florida Fancy
-Florida #1
-Florida #2
-Cull
Florida fancy





Single trunk
Branch diameter smaller
than 2/3
No flush cuts/open
injuries
Crown full of foliage
Root ball is appropriately
sized
Florida #1



Requires some pruning
to develop good
structure
Has minor trunk injuries
Double leader in top
half of tree
Florida #2



Trees are misshapen
or require major
corrective pruning
Defects may take
several years to
correct
Double leader on
bottom half of the tree
defect
Cull



Defects are not
correctable
Lack vigor
May have poor trunk
and branch structure,
circling roots, open
wounds, flush cuts, or
a loose root ball
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors
Step 9- Downgrading factors
Step 10-Roots
Step 1
Grade trunk
Florida fancy


Single trunk
Straight or with less than
5º bow
Florida #1


Trunk forks in upper half
of tree
Bow of 5º-15º
Codominant
stems
Florida #2



Trunk forks in
lower half of
tree
Bow greater
than 15º
Trunk has
dogleg
Three or more
trunks in upper half
of tree

Dogleg
Cull
3 trunks

Three or more trunks in lower half of tree.
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors
Step 9- Downgrading factors
Step 10-Roots
Step 2
Grade branch arrangement
Florida fancy



Large branches
spaced at least 6”
apart along the
trunk
No branch greater
than 2/3 diameter
of trunk
No vertical
branches
Florida #1




All branches equally
dominant
Branches are at least 4”
apart
One branch in upper
half of tree may be
greater than 2/3
No branch tips are taller
than trunk
Florida #2



Most branches
vertical
Major branches
spaced 4” apart in
two or more locations
One branch in lower
half of tree larger
than 2/3




Vertical
branching
Narrow branch
angles
Major branches
growing from
same point or
opposite from
each other
Major branches
less than 4’ from
the ground
Cull
Steps for determining the grade of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors
Step 9- Downgrading factors
Step 10-Roots
Step 3
Choose appropriate tree
matrix from index
Based on natural form of the tree





Type 1- Spreading and rounded shapes. Ex- Live
oak, sycamore, black olive.
Type 2- Pyramidal shapes. Ex- Pin oak, southern
magnolia, pine.
Type 3- Columnar/ upright shapes. Ex- Loblolly
bay, Italian cypress, stopper.
Type 4- Vase shapes. Ex- Chinese elm,
hawthorn, redbud.
Type 5- Oval shapes. Ex- Ash, basswood, red
maple.
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors
Step 9- Downgrading factors
Step 10-Roots
Step 4
Measure trunk caliper
Measure trunk caliper

Caliper- Trunk
diameter
measured 6”
from the ground
for trees up to
4” caliper, and
12” from ground
for larger trees.
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors
Step 9- Downgrading factors
Step 10-Roots
Step 5
Grade crown spread
Grading for crown spread


Measure crown
spread
Spread must be
greater or equal to
the minimum for the
grade
Crown Spread Diameter: The
average of the widest branch
spread and that perpendicular
to it.
Type one matrix
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors
Step 9- Downgrading factors
Step 10-Roots
Step 6
Grade structural
uniformity of crown
Florida fancy


Branches
evenly
distributed
around
trunk
No major
branch
located
directly
above
another
Crown full of
foliage
Florida #1

Most branches evenly distributed
One major branch located directly above another

Not completely foliated- small voids present.

Small
void
Florida #2




Branches not
evenly distributed
Several branches
growing on same
side
Two or more
branches located
directly above each
other
Large voids in
crown
Cull



Tree is one sided or
flat sided
Major branches
growing from only
one or two sides
Large gaps in
crown
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors
Step 9- Downgrading factors
Step 10-Roots
Step 7
Determine the lowest grade
from steps 1, 2, 5, and 6
Determine the lowest grade
from steps 1, 2, 5, and 6
Step 1- Florida #1
Step 2- Florida #1
Step 5- Florida fancy
Step 6- Florida #1
Lowest grade – Florida #1
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors-takes 1
Step 9- Downgrading factors-takes two
Step 10-Roots
Step 8
Downgrading factorsDeduct one grade for every true
statement
Tree with caliper
greater than 1”
requires staking
Stake
Root ball/container undersized
B&B root ball not properly secured
Materials used to
secure B&B root balls
B&B properly secured
Root-bound
Large roots growing
around outer edge of
root ball
One or two
roots growing
out of container
or grow bag
Root greater than 1/5
diameter of the trunk
Crown thin/sparsely foliated
Tip dieback
on more
than 5% of
branches
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors-takes one
Step 9- Downgrading factors-takes 2
Step 10-Roots
Step 9
Downgrading factorsDeduct one grade if two
statements are true and two
grades if more are true
Tree height
shorter than min.
or taller than max.
in appropriate
matrix
Flush cuts
flush
cut
good
cut
Callus forming only around sides
of flush cut. Branch collar no
longer present.
Branch stubs
Open trunk
wounds/
injuries
Open
wound
Graft unions
not complete
Incomplete graft union
More than
lower 40% of
trunk free
from branches
More than 5% of leaves are chlorotic
or show signs of pests and diseases
Leaves
smaller
than
normal
Included bark
between trunk
and major
branches
Included bark
Major
branches
touching
Branches touching
Steps for determining the grade
of a tree










Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1234567-
Grade trunk
Branch arrangement
Appropriate tree matrix
Trunk caliper
Crown spread
Structural uniformity of crown
Determine the lowest grade
given in steps 1,2,5 and 6
Step 8- Downgrading factors-takes 1
Step 9- Downgrading factors-takes 2
Step 10-Roots
Step 10
Grade root structure
Cull tree if the following are true
 A root is greater
than 1/10 trunk
diameter, and …
 it circles more
than 1/3 the
trunk, and …
 it is in the top
half of the root
ball.
Circling roots inside root
ball
Grades and Standards
for Nursery Stock
by Edward F. Gilman, professor
Environmental Horticulture Department
IFAS
University of Florida
http://hort.ufl.edu/woody/planting