Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them

Post by skeledrew » Tue, Apr 02, 2024, 10:09 PM UTC

oasisbob wrote: post #73

skeledrew wrote: post #51

Ah, typical. Nature taking its course and, once again, humans decide they know what's better and is going in to "correct" things. Then a few years in there's the cry about the disruption that was caused, and yet even more attempts at rectification. A never-ending cycle, because we can't learn to be hands off. Well I guess the cycle will eventually end given things are always somewhat worse with every swing of the cor…

The Bradford pear is a cultivar of an imported species from Asia. Nothing about this tree growing in North America is "nature taking its course". Humans decided to cultivate it here, and we can choose to stop. Cycles of correction, sure, but attempting to fix problems due to introduced species seems like a worthwhile effort.

Post by adestefan » Tue, Apr 02, 2024, 10:12 PM UTC

aidenn0 wrote: post #78

tomohawk wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought you were going to say something about how large branches will just pop off and crush anything beneath them at random times. This is due to how multiple branches will come from the trunk at the same point, and are weakly attached. EDIT: Having finally eradicated all of the ones from our land, the best method is to immediately pour herbicide onto the trunk after cutting it down. The herbicide will get sucked…

What herbicide do you use? I have a tree growing under my roofline that keeps growing back. I tried glyphosate last time, but it came back.

Post by Loughla » Tue, Apr 02, 2024, 10:44 PM UTC

davemp wrote: post #92

dvirsky wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That reminds me of when I asked an arborist why the tree they were taking down was called a “Piss Oak”. They said wait until we drop it and you won’t have to ask. Sure enough the entire area smelled like urine for a couple hrs after they felled the tree.

Post by hansvm » Tue, Apr 02, 2024, 11:07 PM UTC

Terr_ wrote: post #85

aidenn0 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What herbicide do you use? I have a tree growing under my roofline that keeps growing back. I tried glyphosate last time, but it came back.

That makes me think of some bamboo eradication advice: You allow new growth to progress so that it consumes energy from the tricky root system, then cut it before the fresh sections can provide much in photosynthetic return-on-investment. After a few years of losing calories with each attempt, the plant runs out. That might only work for plants with "bursty" regrowth though.

Post by gweinberg » Tue, Apr 02, 2024, 11:30 PM UTC

delichon wrote: post #84

The original Bradford pear tree was ideal for planting because it was thought to be sterile in that it could not reproduce. -- TFA John Hammond: There you are. There. They imprint on the first creature they come in contact with. Helps them to trust me. I've been present for the birth of every creature on this island. Ian Malcolm: Well, surely not the ones that have bred in the wild. Henry Wu: Actually, they can't bre…