Planting, nursery stock and soil standards by country

Planting standards fall into two kinds. Nursery stock standards describe the tree as bought and sold: size, root ball, container, labelling. Planting and soil documents describe the work after delivery. Councils and landscape architects write one or both into their planting specifications, so a climber or crew lead who plants, or who inspects young trees, will see the names. This page describes what the publishers say.

United States

American Standard for Nursery Stock

AmericanHort publishes the American Standard for Nursery Stock. You may know it as ANSI Z60.1. AmericanHort's page now titles it Z-60.2 and says the revision, worked on between January 2024 and April 2025, replaced the Z60.1 that was approved in April 2014. The page says the current standards were approved in April 2025 and offers a Download Standards link for the 2025 edition. See the AmericanHort standard page.

AmericanHort's page says the purpose of the standard is to give buyers and sellers of nursery stock a common terminology to facilitate transactions. AmericanHort lists what it sets out: how to measure plants, how to state their size, the proper relationship between height and caliper, and whether a root ball or container is large enough for a given size of plant. The same page says it is meant for professional horticulturists and landscape architects who already know the horticultural terms.

AmericanHort's frequently asked questions sheet says two things about status. The standard is used in commercial transactions where specifications are needed for project bids, and it does not apply to retail consumer transactions. It also says many federal, state and local laws or building codes incorporate the standard by reference, so anyone writing specifications for or supplying nursery stock on a government project needs to comply with it. The exact wording is on the AmericanHort questions sheet.

The same sheet says AmericanHort's view is that use is strictly voluntary, and that once the parties agree to follow the standard, compliance becomes part of the contract. Whether it binds a given job depends on the contract or the law that names it.

ANSI A300 on planting and on soil

TCIA, the Tree Care Industry Association, sells the ANSI A300 tree care standards. Its page says they provide standard practices and specification writing guidelines, and that since January 1, 2024 they are available as one consolidated document. TCIA's part pages describe each part by what it covers, and two parts matter here.

Part 6, planting and transplanting. TCIA says it applies to planting and transplanting trees, shrubs, palms and other woody plants. Its list of topics runs from plant and site inspection and timing, through root ball size, digging, lifting and storage, to planting container stock and post-planting care. It names four transplanting methods: balled and wrapped, bare root, boxed and tree spade. See the TCIA Part 6 page.
Part 2, soil management. TCIA lists a modification section (evaluating site soil, organic matter, amendments, compaction, mulch), a fertilization section and a drainage section. See the TCIA Part 2 page.

A third part covers managing trees during site planning and construction. The trees and construction guide on this site covers that area.

Canada

Canadian Nursery Stock Standard

The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) publishes the Canadian Nursery Stock Standard. The page shows the ninth edition, 2017, and says the purpose set in 1967 was to standardise how nursery stock is sized and described. English and French PDFs are offered for download on the page. The standard uses metric units. CNLA says it aligns closely with the American standard, which its page still names as ANSI Z60.1-2014. See the CNLA standard page.

CNLA calls compliance voluntary. The CNLA page says using it helps reduce confusion and conflict when both parties agree to it.

Canadian Landscape Standard

CNLA also publishes the Canadian Landscape Standard, a separate document about landscape construction. Its page says the June 2024 edition has a new and revised Section 5 on growing medium, rewritten by Vineland Laboratories after a national consultation. It says the document is for anyone who specifies landscape work, including landscape architects, municipal parks and planning departments. The page values it at CA$100 and says it is free to CNLA members. See the CNLA standards and guides page.

Who cites it: Toronto

The City of Toronto's planting specification TS 5.30, September 2021 edition, names the CNLA standard in its references. It asks for a certificate from the growing nursery that plants meet the Canadian Nursery Stock Standard, 9th Edition. It says type of root preparation, sizing, grading and quality shall be according to the Canadian standard, and that undersize nursery stock for trees will not be accepted. It measures caliper 300 mm above ground. It also says trees whose trunk flare is not exposed above the root ball on arrival are rejected, and a 2-year warranty applies. See the Toronto TS 5.30 document. A newer edition may exist.

United Kingdom

BS 8545:2014

BS 8545:2014, Trees: from nursery to independence in the landscape. Recommendations, was published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) on February 28, 2014. BSI says it gives recommendations for transplanting young trees with a view to their eventual independence in any landscape, and covers planning, design, production, planting and management of young trees. BSI names its audience as anyone involved in the planning, planting and management of new trees, garden designers, garden nurseries and transporters of new trees. It applies to trees with a distinct crown prepared in the nursery, and not to whips, transplants and seedlings. See the BSI page for BS 8545.

BSI's page marks the standard Current, Under Review, and says it is no longer available for sale from that page. A street tree planting guide hosted by the Trees and Design Action Group says BS 8545 is being amended with publication planned for 2026. It also uses the standard's phrase, independence in the landscape, as the aim of street tree planting. See the Street Trees planting guide.

BS 3936 nursery stock

BS 3936-1:1992, Nursery stock. Specification for trees and shrubs, is listed Current by BSI, at £232.00 for non-members and £116.00 for members. BSI describes it as covering requirements for trees and shrubs, including conifers and woody climbing plants, that are suitable for transplanting as ornamental or amenity plants. It sets out dimensions, containers and labelling. See the BSI page for BS 3936-1. The same planting guide lists BS 8640:2025, a guide to structural and supported soils for trees in hard landscapes, in its further reading.

Trees and Design Action Group guides

The Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) publishes guides for download on its site. Those on planting include Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure: A Guide for Specifiers (2018), How to Plant Larger Trees: A Guide for Community Groups (2025), and Trees in Hard Landscapes: A Guide for Delivery (2014). TDAG says the larger trees guide, made with the National Trust, offers general guidance only. It says the hard landscapes guide is of particular interest to highway engineers, public realm professionals and tree specialists. See the TDAG guides list.

Australia

AS 2303:2018

Standards Australia lists AS 2303:2018, Tree stock for landscape use, as current, published December 21, 2018, 29 pages. It says the objective is to give criteria for those who grow, specify or purchase tree stock for landscape use, so that quality stock can be identified whatever the production method. The store page shows AU$154.97 including GST for a single user licence in web reader format, and shows the 2015 edition as superseded. See the Standards Australia store page.

The front matter, shown in a reseller's free preview, says the standard was prepared by committee EV-018, Arboriculture. The committee lists, among others, the Australian Local Government Association, Nursery & Garden Industry Australia, the Institute of Australian Consulting Arboriculturists and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. The preview says the standard covers only the tree stock quality part of the whole process from nursery to established tree. Its contents include sections on tree stock balance assessment and on testing, and an appendix on sampling at dispatch. See the AS 2303 free preview.

AS 4419:2018 soils

Standards Australia lists AS 4419:2018, Soils for landscaping and garden use, as current, published December 21, 2018, 49 pages, at AU$222.04. It says it gives manufacturers a set of requirements so that soils can support plant growth, and gives growers, landscape architects and consumers assurance of the suitability and quality of soils. See the AS 4419 store page.

New Zealand

The New Zealand Arboricultural Association says that in the absence of New Zealand specific standards it supports and recommends international ones. The list on its safety and guidelines page names standards for pruning, for trees on development sites and for utility line work. It names no planting or nursery stock standard. See the NZ Arb safety page.

The job specification states which standard applies.

Side by side

Country	Nursery stock	Planting or soil
United States	ANSI Z60.2 (AmericanHort)	ANSI A300 Parts 6 and 2 (TCIA)
Canada	Canadian Nursery Stock Standard, 9th edition (CNLA)	Canadian Landscape Standard (CNLA)
United Kingdom	BS 3936-1 (BSI)	BS 8545 (BSI)
Australia	AS 2303:2018 (Standards Australia)	AS 4419:2018 (soils)
New Zealand	None listed	None listed

For pruning standards see the pruning standards guide. For rules that protect existing trees see the tree protection laws guide.