A partridge in a pear tree might be what your true love gave to you on the first day of this Christmas, but unfortunately, I have to be the bearer of some bad news. Pear trees aren’t exactly in high regard, and if you did in fact get one this year (or any previous year, at Christmas time or otherwise) you might want to look for an opportunity to exchange it for a more desirable gift. Let me explain. Pear trees, specifically the ornamental cultivar Bradford pear, are looked down upon by many modern gardeners, landscapers, and conservationists for a number of reasons. We’ll get to all those in a minute, but first let’s start with the positive attributes of these trees. Bradford pears, and ornamental pear cultivars that are part of the Pyrus calleryana or Callery pear species, are prolific blooming, early flowering trees, with white blossoms that last for about two weeks. They also sometimes have a fleeting bit of fall color, typically reddish-purple. That’s it, the full list of positive attributes. Above, left: In the spring, the branches of the Bradford Pear tree are covered with foul-smelling white flowers. Photo: J. Robbins, CC BC-NC-ND 4.0 Above, top right: While visually appealing, the flowers give off a smell that has been described as ranging from a minimal odor to smelling like rotting fish. Photo: G. Craig, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Above, bottom right: The Bradford Pear provides a fleeting bit of fall color. Photo: Camilla, CC BY-NC-N. The negative? To start, those white blooms in the spring tend to be quite foul smelling. The odor tends to vary from plant to plant, but the best-case scenario would be an odorless flower and the worst case would be a scent described as “rotting fish.” If your sense of smell is not too keen, the tree’s scent may not scare you. So then, let’s consider the structure of the tree. Bradford pear tends to have branches that have vary narrow angles of attachment to the main trunk, which may seem insignificant at first, but in actuality causes limbs to be extremely weak in the area of attachment to the trunk and incredibly susceptible to breakage from wind, ice, or any other element that exerts force upon the tree. Look around your neighborhood sometime after a storm and see how many trees have snapped or dropped broken limbs to the ground. I bet you’ll see more snapped Bradford pears than just about anything else. Although Bradford pears are self-sterile, they will cross pollinate with other callery pears, and are incredibly prolific seeders, providing yet another reason to dislike them. Because we’ve planted so many of them and they reproduce so forcefully, they have become extremely invasive, volunteering in wooded areas, sites with wet soil, and just about anywhere else space will allow.
NC Cooperative Extension, the NC Forest Service, NC Department of Agriculture, the NC Wildlife Service, and the NC Urban Forestry Council have teamed up to create the NC Bradford Pear Bounty program. Through the bounty program, NC residents who attend sponsored events and show proof of removing a Bradford pear from their property are eligible to receive a more suitable native tree species in its place. You can visit https:www.treebountync.com for more details about how to participate in the bounty program and register for qualifying events. Whether you choose to exchange a Bradford pear or not, you should know they are a problematic tree that is no longer recommended for use in our landscapes. There are many alternatives that are similar in size and/or appearance, including but not limited to serviceberry, redbud, various species of dogwoods, ‘Okame’ cherry, and more. The NC State Plant Toolbox (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu) is a great online tool to locate a more appropriate tree species. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705.
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Matt Stevens
Pitt County Extension Director & Horticulture Agent Archives
January 2025
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