Important note: There are now hybrid species that don't have the same downsides as the original true Bradford pear. Most of what are planted now are these hybrids.
Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
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Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
To expand on this, many states have a large white pine lumber industry. The white pine is highly susceptible to a type of fungus harbored by currants. The fungus does not spread from white pine to white pine, only from currants to currant, or currant to white pine, so eliminating the nearby currants protects the white pine industry.
In Europe they decided to get rid of the white pines (which are not native) in favor of the blackcurrants.
Interesting! Citation?
Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#33When we bought our house we had 3 city trees which were Bradford pear trees. We lots two of them during rainy season. One lost a major branch. The other got uprooted. I've read Bradford tree
I'm in California. Our city doesn't allow Bradford pear trees anymore. When we bought our hour we had three Bradford pear trees. Over time we lost two of them during rainy seasons. One got uprooted and the other broke off a major branch. Both times it was fortunate that nobody was injured or property got damaged. Ended up replacing them all.
Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#34This is good news. In my area the only thing worse than Bradford pears are the Mimosas. It took me ~3 years of consistent work to clear off the Mimosas from our 1 acre lot in town. And I still have to spray or hand pull hundreds of the tiny ones each season because none of my neighbors have been as diligent.
What's wrong with Mimosas? They smell so nice in spring!
They are invasive (in the US) and grow like weeds completely taking over and crowding out native species. Having many of them screws up the nitrogen level of the soil further crowding out/killing native plants.
This alters the ecosystem.
Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#35Was on HOA board where we had a road with quite a few of these trees. They were a fortune to prune because of the numerous small branches at higher reaches. As a board, we actually hoped they would come down in storms so we could replace with something more appropriate without the take down cost (and resident complaints). Another unqiue thing is during the summer it was not uncommon for a branch to suddenly explode -…
Bradford pears were all the rage in the 1990s to 2000s. At one point HOAs thought these were the best tree. Local gardens and nurseries would sell lots of them to landscapers and homeowners.
To this day, they're all over my home state of Georgia. And they're still selected for new landscaping.
They did have a few pros:
- Look great in the spring
- Huge, lush, thick canopy in the summer
- Fast growing
But there are way too many problems:
- Kills all the grass underneath them from shade and root structure
- Seedlings and root offshoots are pervasive pests
- Produces a lot of fruit, and it's toxic to humans and dogs. It smells bad and can smear if you step on it
- Trees only live 7 - 15 years, and they leave a gnarly root system to deal with.
- Extremely prone to falling over during winds or tornadoes. Can easily damage fences, housing, etc. We had to replace our fence once because of one. Even small storms can bring down the older trees.
- And of course, everyone knows how awful they smell in the spring
Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#36I thought these were linden trees this whole time.
Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
To expand on this, many states have a large white pine lumber industry. The white pine is highly susceptible to a type of fungus harbored by currants. The fungus does not spread from white pine to white pine, only from currants to currant, or currant to white pine, so eliminating the nearby currants protects the white pine industry.
In Europe they decided to get rid of the white pines (which are not native) in favor of the blackcurrants.
The Ribena lobby is strong
Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
They also smell like someone took a rotting fish, dunked it in sewage and decided to roast it in the sun for a few days. They're everywhere where I live, and it's so bad.
These are the same trees known as Cum Trees, right? My neighbors have a couple, I didn't know these before moving to the US, and the first time I smelled them was... something.
They sure are
Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#39This is good news. In my area the only thing worse than Bradford pears are the Mimosas. It took me ~3 years of consistent work to clear off the Mimosas from our 1 acre lot in town. And I still have to spray or hand pull hundreds of the tiny ones each season because none of my neighbors have been as diligent.
What's wrong with Mimosas? They smell so nice in spring!
In addition to what everyone else said, they are nitrogen fixing, so their leaf litter creates too much nitrogen for most native plants to grow.
Re: Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
#40This is good news. In my area the only thing worse than Bradford pears are the Mimosas. It took me ~3 years of consistent work to clear off the Mimosas from our 1 acre lot in town. And I still have to spray or hand pull hundreds of the tiny ones each season because none of my neighbors have been as diligent.
What's wrong with Mimosas? They smell so nice in spring!
Other commenters have covered most of the reasons why they are awful, but my main complaint is that they will completely take over your garden beds and wooded areas if left undisturbed.