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Invasive Bradford Pears

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Location: North Georgia / Appalachian mountains , Zone 7B/8A

posted 9 years ago

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I've seen a number of articles lately on how invasive Bradford pear trees are.
These are of course the "decorative" residential tree, not an actual fruiting pear.

I think I'm going to go home this afternoon and cut down the volunteer Bradford pear in my front yard.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/callery_pear.pdf

Spencer Vaterlaus

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posted 9 years ago

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I've been thinking the same. My church has 6+ of them and I'm going to make a proposal for removal as well as some other landscape changes.

William Bronson

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posted 9 years ago

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I think someone here on permies successfully grafted onto them.

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John Elliott

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William Bronson wrote: I think someone here on permies successfully grafted onto them.

Maybe up north you can do that, but down here in Georgia I have had no luck with grafts. Maybe because the dormancy period is so short.

I don't like them and think they are a nuisance. They stool and sucker all over the place, and for the first few years, they can have some nasty thorns. I guess they do provide some overwintering food for wildlife, but I wouldn't call them a good permaculture tree. Much better to have a regular pear that you can harvest from.

Cris Bessette

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Location: North Georgia / Appalachian mountains , Zone 7B/8A

posted 9 years ago

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John Elliott wrote:

William Bronson wrote:

They stool and sucker all over the place, and for the first few years, they can have some nasty thorns. I guess they do provide some overwintering food for wildlife, but I wouldn't call them a good permaculture tree. Much better to have a regular pear that you can harvest from.

From what I was reading, the Bradford pear crosses with other pears, then the progeny of that mix are these wild and very thorny trees, the thorns can puncture tractor tires, so the only way to remove
them en masse is to use metal tracked tractors.

I have one that came up next to my "real" pear tree and it is covered with thorns and has many suckers coming from it.

Akiva Silver

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posted 9 years ago

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You can definitely use them as rootstocks for grafting onto. There is no reason that a southern gardener could not graft trees. You can graft while they are dormant or actively growing.
Also, pears are excellent for wildlife. Those tiny bradford pears are readily consumed by many birds and mammals. If I were to pick a list of invasive plants to 'invade' my fields, pears would be in my top 10.
I think you have something great there if you have easily established volunteer pear rootstocks.

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Stephen Layne

Posts: 31

Location: NE Ga, Zone 7b/8a

posted 9 years ago

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I also live in N. Ga and Bradford pears only seem to be invasive in disturbed areas where they can get enough sun. They don't colonize already wooded areas in my experience. they would be great for a rocket stove as the dry wood burns quite hot even in a normal fireplace and they do stump sprout easily. The wood decomposes quickly which makes it great for a hugel that productive in its first year.

Cris Bessette

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Location: North Georgia / Appalachian mountains , Zone 7B/8A

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Akiva Silver wrote:You can definitely use them as rootstocks for grafting onto. There is no reason that a southern gardener could not graft trees. You can graft while they are dormant or actively growing.
Also, pears are excellent for wildlife. Those tiny bradford pears are readily consumed by many birds and mammals. If I were to pick a list of invasive plants to 'invade' my fields, pears would be in my top 10.
I think you have something great there if you have easily established volunteer pear rootstocks.

I'm not aware that there is a great need for rootstocks for pear trees. Don't they grow readily enough on their own roots in this region?
As for food for wildlife, the one real pear tree I have is absolutely covered with pears every year, and 80% end up going to the wildlife anyways.

Given the short lifespan and easily damaged structure of these Bradford pears (and their thorny offspring) , seems to me much better to have regular pear trees.

John Wolfram

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posted 9 years ago

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Cris Bessette wrote:I'm not aware that there is a great need for rootstocks for pear trees. Don't they grow readily enough on their own roots in this region?

At least in my area, there's definitely a need for any pear root stock that might impart some fire blight resistance to the tree, and this is especially true for people who would rather not spray their trees with powerful antibiotics like streptomycin.

Rico Loma

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posted 1 month ago

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I believe they are banned in South Carolina now , so no sales or new plantings. Here in GA I rate them as an expensive nuisance, inflicting endless damage to my hands...thorns go through even welding gloves.... and to all tires.
Yes, it makes tolerable firewood but my blood is usually spilled again en route to the flames. My two cents

M Ljin

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posted 1 month ago

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Ornamental pear trees in cities tend to have delicious fruit when they soften for wintertime, the best, most flavorful pears I have ever tasted. They are a little like crab-pears or pear-berries. I am guessing they are probably Bradford pear. I would plant them for the fruit, and they probably have lovely wood as well. Has anyone else tried them?

I believe some have called them poisonous but were referring to the seed and not the fruit. Many seeds that when chewed in large quantities could be toxic, are fine if left whole and pass through unharmed (as they are supposed to).

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Timothy Norton

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Location: Upstate New York, Zone 5b, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall

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posted 1 month ago

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I have tried the pear of the bradford pear tree once and found it to be too mealy for my liking. Perhaps it could be made into some kind of jam to help correct the texture issue?

I find the trees to disaster prone and eventually will start breaking here and there. Then you get the smell which is quite the scent! Not in a good way either if you ask me.

In populated areas, I regularly encourage folks that have them in areas where they can cause damage from large falling limbs to remove them and replace with something more stout. They are more of a liability to me than a boon.

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Martin Mikulcik

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Location: Missouri

posted 1 month ago

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I've had em. Crab apples are better. You must have found the good ones

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M Ljin

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posted 1 month ago

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There is probably a lot of variation, just like crab apples. One crabapple tree may have terrible tasting fruit whereas another may be extraordinary. I have had some pears that were bad because they were unripe—were yours a bit wrinkly and squishy? (That would indicate full ripeness.)

Martin Mikulcik

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Location: Missouri

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No, hard crunchy dry mealy not sweet... Must be healthy

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Rico Loma

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posted 1 month ago

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If the good folks at Clemson university are giving away alternate pear trees, to stop these from spreading, I feel that " the fruit is sorta edible " is falling on deaf ears. Please y'all, read about the South Carolina ban, and why this tree is considered dangerous by respected ag professors.

"Why the Ban?
Invasive Spread: Bradford pears spread rapidly via birds, forming dense thickets that crowd out native plants, says this USA Today article.

Ecological Harm: They offer poor food sources for local wildlife, creating "food deserts" for insects and birds, notes this USA Today article.

Physical Hazards: Their weak wood leads to breakage, and they have thorns that can damage farm equipment and injure livestock, according to this Greenville Journal article. "

M Ljin

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posted 1 month ago

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Maybe they weren’t Bradford pears, but whatever those street pears were, they were more than sort of edible.

They are like medlars or rose hips: they need bletting before they become edible.

Nick Shepherd

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Location: SE Missouri, 7A

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I mow my field once a year with a bush hog so they’re not a problem. The only ones I have are around the edges and for the last few years I graft everyone I find. Since they are young and competing with the oaks and hickory they don’t have a lot of fruit

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