Well, here on my part of Long Island they had forcasted 1-3 inches of snow but were very wrong. Looks like about 6 inches but that it not the problem. The snow is very wet and sticky. I have never seen the tree branches as bent over as they are last night and this morning. Nothing seems to have escaped it, even small shrubs are bent over double by the weight of the sticky snow. Its not falling off the branches either and I am sure lots of Bradford Pears are going to be a mess after the snow leaves. Our electric was off last night until 2AM and I am surprised they got it fixed that fast.

I have two bradford pears and I would never plant another. They are cracking our driveway, they also break in highwind, taking a third or more limbs off. I saw on a gardening show that there is another pear similar to this one. It is much better and they advised you to ask at the nursery.

On the upside they are beautiful when they bloom and their leaves are lovely, especially in the fall. The birds don't eat the fruit of my trees, they split it open and eat the seeds. That is the way they do the Washington Hawthorne fruit also. The whole yard smells wonderful when they are in bloom.

Our Bradford Pear was already here when we bought our home. I've seen many of them severely damaged by high winds. That is definitely a mark against them.

However, ours has been wonderful to us. It is mature and provides a great amount of shade in the summer months and is a haven for birds. I know it isn't long lived...but I'm enjoying it while I can.

I agree that they are overplanted but they are hardly a scourge. lol

We had a trim trimmer trim our trees under the power lines and he told us if we had thinned it out the BPs, it would not have been damaged. Trimmed the wind goes right through them.

We put some of the fruits out along with a salt lick and the next day much of the fruit was gone, and all around the tree were deer tracks. So maybe deer will eat them.

I just noticed that in my OIKOS tree corp catalog they are selling a hybrid pear they call ECOS pear. Parentage Pyrus X pyrifolia X communis X calleryana. Touted as food for deer, turkey and songbirds. I managed to not notice this on my first three go rounds in the catalog, as I was much more interested in the Serviceberries, viburnums and Nanking cherries. Still not planning on ordering it.

I live in New Haven, Connecticut and my street is planted with Bradford Pears. The fruit has been eaten mostly by Starlings, but I've also had Mockingbirds, Cardnals (sp), White-Throated Sparrow, and Juncos eat them also. I know they were popular with the Starlings (one look at my car parked under the trees is enough).

I agree with some of the statments made about them and Im sure the city could have planted something better but I enjoy the tree. Pretty flowers in spring, dark shiny foliage in summer, and nice red leaves in autumn. Not much fruit drops to the ground on these trees, but lots of pollen in the spring. The only other tree most cities here plant as street trees are Norway Maples. I hate them with a passion.

Tim

The fruit of the local street pears is all totally gone. Of course, it has been a really bad winter here. I have never actually seen any birds in the trees so I don't have a guess as to what ate them but as we do have lots of Starlings this Winter and we all know they will eat most anything!

There are so many northerners in this town that they have planted those annoying Bradford Pears everywhere including 2 in my front yard. They keep doing their best to destroy this place.
I haven't had any problems with the berries being left on the tree. Things like Mockingbirds clean them off before they have a chance to hit the ground.

Hey, the local street tree pears are all in bloom around town. Looks nice!

We had a lousey winter so every type of bird edible berry was eaten up this winter. Not sure if the birds would bother with them in a milder winter.

Can't belive all the Bradford Pear Trees they had at Cheap Sams (local nursery) today. Rows and rows of them. Big trees too about 8-10 feet tall and taller. Only noticed because they were near the crabapples I was looking at. The pears all had fruits (so did the crabapples).

You would not believe how invasive the bradford pears have become here. There are "reforestation" areas in developments here and they are now nothing but bradford pears. I've personally never seen anything like it!

We lined our driveway with them .They were really looking nice .We had really bad weather one night a few weeks ago,trees down all over,electric out for 4 days. 2 of our trees are totally ruined..

I don't hate Bradford pears personally, after all the trees can't help it, but there are SO many better choices, both for wildlife and durability. I'll never understand why so many people plant them.
Sherry

The street Bradford Pears around town did better than I expected. Not much damage from the windy conditions from the storm. We did not have it bad here on the North Shore of Long Island and my town did not even loose power.

We planted them because they were pretty and in my case the nursery man encouraged me to. Our city planted them every where and when I asked a tree trimmer why he said because they were free.

Sherry#1 - I think Jonesy answered your question! Even free, I wouldn't have one, either. Like you said, there are too many better choices. My Aunt has some in her yard - she said they look great for a couple of years, then their arms fall off. She's replacing them with something else next spring.

There is another potential problem with Bradford Pear. The flowers can be pollintated by other Callery pears with the dominant "thorniness" gene, so our future may be filled with thorny pear thickets. I wrote an article for the Tennessee Conservationist magazine about the problem a couple years ago, and interviewed the former director of the federal plant introduction station in Marlyand where the "Bradford" selection was found and cloned. He was quite elderly, told a fascinating story of destroying the "mother" tree, and quite concerned about what they had unleased upon the landscape. I haven't mastered genetics, but I expect all the selections from Callery pear may contribute to this problem. They shouldn't be planted, they should be removed from the landscape.

Well, I have learned a lot about the Bradford and other Callery Pears since I posted this more than a year ago. I honestly never knew that the fruits would be eaten by any birds or critters. Since then (just lately) there has been a great discussion on the Bluebird list about the fruits of the Bradford Pears and that they are eaten by Cedar Waxwings, Robins and Starlings in Ohio. I immagine other birds would eat them too if hungry enough.

Apparently there are some with larger fruits than the marble sized rock hard things I am used to seeing. Maybe not as good for the Songbirds but Golf Ball sized fruit great for feeding Squirrells, Rabbitts and local wildlife. The Squirrells around here are very well fed so I don't concern myself with food for squirrells.

some kind of bird eats the fruits off this garbage tree, because they are invading everywhere, especially in the last 5+ years. i have heard its because of the introduction of other cultivars which cross-pollinate with the 'bradford'. i'm in maryland and unfortunatly its our county tree because it was developed here in 1960's.

I was driving around town today. Since our local streets are lined with Bradford Pears in fruit, I noticed Starlings eating away in many of the trees.

Nothing on the Bradford Pears around town. The fruits are all gone, eaten by hords of Starlings long ago.

Calleryana Pears are beginning to dot the countryside just as the Russian Olives, Japanose Honeysuckles, and Burning Bushes are. I read the interview with the former director of the FPIS and this man's sincere concern and remorse for what was "unleashed" was beyond evident. The National Arbor Day will not offer them any longer... does this speak volume? Seriously, I wholeheartedly believe Bradfords, Cleveland Selects, RedSpires, Aristocrats, and all of the other cultivars released under catchy names to lull the public into a false sense of security should be pulled form the market given the existing damage to the countryside which is well documented. I would have to agree with tennbob that they should be removed from the landscape as these plants have only just begun to wreak havoc.

I agree. When we moved out here 22 years ago, there were rows and rows of russian olive and japanese honeysuckle. The russian olive didn't seem nearly as invasive as the honeysuckle.....which covers probably half of our 33 acres now. :(
I planted a Bradford Pear about 15 years ago (before I knew better), and it grew very tall and broke easily in wind storms. We finally cut it down. But I don't remember any fruit.
That's a very interesting question.....about the nutritional value of "man-made" ornamentals. I wonder if anyone has ever done studies on the difference nutritionally between fruit from native stuff vs hybrid/non native.

Hello Catherine, I believe Callery Pear fruits are sorely lacking in lipids.

http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?articleId=842&issueId=64

Native plants, as a general rule, have far greater nutritional value to North American wildlife as for lack of a simpler explanation... they have evolved together over thousands of years. For all practical purposes, we starve out our native fauna by allowing exotic invasive species to out compete native flora.

http://www.windstar.org/features/nativeplants.htm

Starlings, a non native species of bird which out compete native species, roost in dense vegetation such as that afforded by... Callery Pears. Incidentally, starlings do eat the fruit of the Callery Pears although many native species can't or won't.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/mecklenburg/depts/hort/wild/

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Sturnus_vulgaris.html

Not all non native plant species upset balance. There are many well behaved plants that do not invade or possess the propensity for same. Unfortunately, current scientific data out there is pointing to Calleryana Pears as being highly invasive as much so if not even more so than Chinese Tallow, Buckthorn, Kudzu, and Tree of Heavens.

It never ceases to disappoint me how some nurseries market Callery Pears. Please note there is no mention of the Aristocrat being a Callery Pear that may hybridize with other Callery Pears at the web site listed below. This is how it is that an unsuspecting public comes to purchase many types of plants which spread rampantly across the countryside displacing native vegetation that our wildlife so desperately needs to survive. This particular retailer happened to pop up first in my search but they are by no means the only nursery marketing Callery Pear cultivars.

http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Inquiring%20Minds/bradford_pears.htm

Here's a post from the Trees Forum that may help those wishing to steer clear of purchasing Callery Pears. This list does not appear to contain newer cultivars released after 1996 which are definitely out there being aggressively marketed-

Posted by: Ron_B USDA 8 WA (My Page) on Wed, Mar 17, 04 at 14:53

"These are Callery pears, of which 'Bradford' is but one selection. You appear to be using "Bradford" in place of "Callery" here. Callery pears introduced prior to 1996 include
Aristocrat(TM) PP 3193 (1972)
'Autumn Blaze' PP 4591 (1980)
'Bradford'
Burgundy Snow(TM)
'Capital'
Chanticleer(R) PP 2489 (1965)
(syn. 'Cleveland Select')
Cleveland Pride(R)
'Earlyred'
Frontier(TM)
Gladiator(TM)
f. graciliflora
Metropolitan(TM)
'Orchard Park'
Princess(TM)
Pzazz(TM)
'Rancho'
'Redspire' PP 3815 (1975)
'Stone Hill'
Trinity(R) PP 4530 (1980)
Valiant(R) PP 8050 (1992)
'Whitehouse'

So, as you can see the nursery industry (and others) have been busy naming, introducing and producing Callery pears for quite awhile, enabling business parks, malls, shopping centers and apartment complexes throughout much of the country to be graced with the odor of pear blossoms every spring."

The Bradford Pears around town are in full bloom today. I know everyone said they are junk trees but they do look lovely in bloom. You know its spring betwen the Bradford Pears and the Forcythia in bloom.

Well, they are still blooming around here but past their bloom prime. The leaves are out on them so the blooms are not as easy to see.

Last year I had the 6 year old Bradford Pear (that came with the house) removed and replaced with a Asian Pear tree. I like it much better, and it is covered with pears this year:) Strange thing is... it looks almost the same as the bradford, only it gets fruit..... GO FIGURE ??????
EG

Robins eat bradford pear berries here

I only ever see Starlings eating the fruits mid winter.

Our town has Bradford pears planted all along the street and strung with white lights. I have recently learned of the environmental problems with these trees and of their tendency to fall apart when older. I am wondering what will happen with all these trees. I have not noticed any of the fruit.

The city has already starting to trim out BPs straight up and they look ridiculous. They have planted them on 6 to 10 ft medians and these trees get as wide as a 3 car driveway and the forks are very low to the ground. They were free to plant, but will cost a bundle when the city has to take them out. I am really proud of our city, it is on two rivers and the city plants trees everywhere, especially after they finish a construction job on the streets. BUT they really made a mistake with BPs, just as they did with the elm trees years ago.

Now that I am into noticing the Fruit on Bradford Pears around town, I noticed they seem to have set a good crop of Fruit this year. I was especially noticing the one in front of our Town Hall yestersday. That one had fruits twice the size of the trees around my neighborhood and some of the fruits were broken off the on the walkway, who knows if from some wildlife or passing people breaking off twigs. Still, too high for kids and I don't think most people would really have interest in the pear fruits.

BP WAY overused! Who wants to grow a tree so common and weed-like!

Bradford pears are extremely common here in Oklahoma, too. I wonder just how this one tree variety managed to take over the entire landscaping industry. Before Bradfords, there was a consortium of crepe myrtle, live oak, Texas ash, and even sycamores.
Sally, I'm really surprised you haven't noticed how Bradfords have replaced live oaks as the new tree of choice for the burgeoning great-tailed grackle populations! I can remember as a child, in Arlington, the sight of a big male GT grackle was quite a novelty. The birds were confined only to certain city parks and industrial sites where they most protected from human harassment.
I still love this bird, our largest and most intelligent of the icterids. However, during the past 20 years, the GTG has not only increased in numbers, but is expanding its range. I saw a GT grackle in Nebraska of all places during a harvest run in 1993! You bet I reported the invader to the local wildlife office. Nobody there, including their wildlife biologist had ever seen one before!I suppose GTG's are rather mundane in Nebraska by now, along with all the Bradford pears being used throughout the state's major cities.
Yes, the tree is rather goblet-shaped and one good look at a stand of them in the winter reveals entire rookeries of abandoned grackles' nests. The grackle only makes her nest in the upper branches of the trees, too. Typically 18-25 feet high. As for eating the fruit, naught. GTG's would rather glean from the nearest McDonald's or Waffle House dumpsters.

Hasn't anyone ever noticed the beautiful autumn leaves of the Bradford Pear? Not the plain reds, but the variegated ones. They are magnificent! I use them in pressed flower/leaf pictures and jewelry. I'd be glad to forward you a picture if you are not familiar with these exquisite autumn leaves!
I have noticed that only some of the trees change this way and then not all the leaves. But they sure are pretty. I have picked them both in NY and Tennessee.

I have been told the fall colors are based on the weather, a dry summer, less color. Our BPs are never pretty like the others in town. I guess because we have very sandy soil and the neighbor never waters his lawn and the other side of the trees is our driveway

Around here, they just yellow and fall off. No spectacular colors. I suppose soil type may be a factor as well.

Every mid-late winter robins and cedar waxwings feast on our bradford pears.

The Bradford Pears planted as street trees all around town are starting to bloom. I personally have always liked the looks of them while blooming.

Last Fall the City of Glen Cove (where I live) announced the allowcating of funds for more street trees to be planted this spring. Since they didn't say what KIND of trees, I figgured it would be more of the Callery type Pears already planted all around town. Immagine my surprise this spring when they planted both Live Oak and Flowering Cherry. Not a Callery Pear in the bunch!

I am about 15 miles nw of Washington D.C. and our streets are lined with Bradford and Aristocrat pears. In the past week (and today) flocks of robins, waxwings, and starlings have been feasting on the Bradfords and I have seen robins on the Aristocrats.

Down here in Maryland, the land where the evil Bradford Pear was first developed, they are a real pest. The article "The Coming Plague of Pears" sums up the threat posed by these wretched trees.

When I was growing up in southern New Jersey, the streets along my walk to middle school had a bunch of older Bradford Pears line them. These were larger than any I've seen since, yet within 2 years time, nearly all of them had fallen apart - I must have gotten there right at the very end of their life spans.

Down here in Maryland, they are even more common, sadly. The center of the local town was lined with them until June, 2002, when we had very serious thunderstorms - it was this group of storms that dropped the Wye Oak on the Eastern Shore, and that white oak will be missed. Most other trees survived except the stupid Bradford Pears in the center of town were all destroyed. The next year they cut them all down and ripped them, replacing them with some other type of tree that is not a pear.

Unfortunately, these trees are still pretty common down here and have basically taken over the nursey industry, at least "big box" stores like Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. When you walk in and look for a tree, 2/3 of them or more will be Callery Pears of some type, and the rest are something useful (if you're lucky). Getting a decent oak or maple is like pulling teeth, but everyone wants pears, right? Ugh!

The ones all around town are blooming again. We have soo.... many planted as street trees all over town. I do like them when they bloom in spring because they look so pretty and it's a wonderful time of year.

Bradford Pears are one of the worst mistakes of the nursery industry, probably coming somewhere between the introduction of Chinese Privet hedge and Kudzu for "erosion control".

They are pretty in flower and fall color, but folks, thats it. It has a stupid gumdrop shape that grows into such a thick canopy you can barely shine a flashlight through it, it splits in half in the slightest ice storm, smells like dead fish in flower, and shades out any understory plants...and to top it off, the cultivars created to solve the branching problem, like Chanticleer and Aristocrat, are the ones responsible for getting Bradfords to cross pollinate and start spreading in the countryside as an invasive exotic!

I happen to be a landscape architect and we are blamed for the overuse of this tree, but I can tell you, were all on the bandwagon now. The only ones at fault in spreading the use of this tree now are homeowners and big wholesale nurseries...keep chastising your neighbors if they choose Bradfords, and perhaps demand will subside. Lets hope so.

I cant tell you how much I hate this tree. A nice replacement medium shade tree would be American Hornbeam and Bosque or Allee Chinese Elm, but if you need the flower, Serviceberry, Fringetree, Cherry, Dogwood, Redbud, Magnolias...albeit these are small, they tend to grow in a wide range.

I know this is an old thread but could not agree more with the last posts description of the bradford pear. During the storm a few days ago many of these trees split and lost major limbs. I was lucky enough to lose the whole tree,unfortunately across my power line. {{gwi:1350162}}

Goodness!! Too bad it took the power line with it! What kind of tree will replace it?

I decided to go with a pink dogwood, mainly because they are hardy to the area. While it is not the most unique tree it will handle the area well and should establish quickly. I also lost an awesome Japanese umbrella pine in the storm that literally snapped at the trunk.

I'm SO EXCITED!!! I've never seen a cedar waxwing until a week or so ago.....there were two sitting in the Bradford Pear tree in my front yard (Mechanicsville, VA) and one was trying to eat the little small fruit dangling from the branch but couldn't get it in his mouth. I never knew the ornamental trees actually bore tiny fruit in the winter. I guess they have always been eaten in years past. SOOOO EXCITED to finally see a cedar waxwing, they are beautiful.