the BRAdFord Pear Curse

This time of year Bradford pears are in full bloom.  Do you love the beautiful white flowers?  If you knew what Bradford pears really were, you would try to take up every Bradford pear in Greenville.  Durant Ashmore, an expert in tree and shrubs, said it best "If you're looking to plant something beautiful, don't let it be a Bradford pear.  In fact nurseries will not even sell Bradford pears anymore, if they are LEAVE RIGHT AWAY.  Any tree nursery would not ever sell a Bradford pear if they knew anything about trees and shrubs.  Why is this you ask?  Let me explain a little about Bradford pears and why if you have them you want to have them removed from your property.

Bradford pears are extremely harmful to our local environment, and it is happening right before you.  If you were in Greenville 20 years ago you didn't see that many Bradford pears.  Now you will see them in any open field, on the side of the road, in yards, and any open land that is not mowed.  You can see Bradford pear forest around here, and those white blooms will be destroying our environment for decades to come.   Many experts say that Bradford pears are worse than kudzu.  

Bradford pears were first introduced in the United States in 1964.  When the tree was introduced into the United States they were thought to be sterile.  Many landscapers and builders starting to plant these beautiful white blooming trees at homes and businesses.  Little did anyone know they were planting a disaster.  First Bradford pears are very weak and often will bust apart within 20 years; this is the good news.  The bad news, Bradford pears are not sterile.  While bradford pears will not reproduce with themselves, they will cross pollinate with other trees.  The first big problem with bradford pears not being sterile is that we often times see a lack of natural trees to our area like maples, pines, and oaks thriving.  The second problem is when the trees cross pollinate we often see large thorny Bradford pears growing that choke the life out of pines, dogwoods, maples, oaks, and many others.  This would be those trees that you pass in a once open field that is now covered with dangerous Bradford pears that are weak and thorny.  While the trees are weak, the thorns are strong and can not be taken out easily.  It takes a steel tracked dozers to remove these trees and can cost several thousand dollars to get rid of and to repair the damage these trees cause to the land.  Just to be clear the problem starts in your yard, with that one Bradford pear that you have.  Your one tree can spawn hundreds of environmentally dangerous trees a year.  If you truly want to make a difference, CUT DOWN ALL YOUR BRADFORD PEARS TODAY.  I am not joking or saying this lightly, I could not yell this or say this any louder; "ALL BRADFORD PEARS MUST GO!"

Save the environment and get rid of Bradford pears.  A few good options to plant in the place of the Bradford pear are Natchez Crepe Myrtles, Maples, Oaks, Japanese Magnolias, Cherry Trees, Flowering Apricots, Serviceberry, Witch Hazel, Redbud, Carolina Silverbell, sourwood, and Japanese Maple are all great options.  We have linked an article below written by Durant Ashmore that goes into detail and gives more options than what we listed here.  
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Call, email, or drop a comment below today and we will get you a price on getting rid of those horrible trees in your yard and get you another tree to plant in its place.  864.275.2039 or email us at [email protected].

Alternatives to Bradford Pear Trees

​By: Ashley Haynes
Copyright ALL Outdoors 2018