Bradford Pear Newsletter

Newsletter 2007

The Demise of Bradford Pears

Every spring we get suckered in. Bradford pears are indeed beautiful. The spring flower display and fragrance is delightful. Then we get impressed again in the fall when the autumn color does its performance. It’s the time in between when the problems show their ugly faces. These ornamental pears have a built in weaknesses. They are susceptible to root diseases, especially when planted too deep in the ground and fertilized with synthetic fertilizers.

The fall color is usually good, sometimes great. The problem is that the tree has some very serious built in problems. Here’s the basic information about this. At the end I will tell you the only way it should be used.

Bradford Pear Fall Color

PEAR, BRADFORD Deciduous – Sun

Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’ Ht. 25’-30’ Spread 25’

(PIE-rus cal-er-ee-AH-nah) Spacing 10’-20’

HABIT: White early spring flowers, red fall color. Upright, very symmetrical small tree with stiff, tightly upright branching. It is a very short-lived tree.

CULTURE: Easy to grow (for a while) in most well drained soils with normal water and fertilization.

USES: Specimen ornamental tree, spring flower color. It has been overused as a street tree.

PROBLEMS

: Bradford pear and the other ornamental pears are all short lived and subject to root diseases if the soil is not excellently drained and healthy. Even if you use the Basic Organic Program to keep the trees in good shape there are built in problems that make these a tree to avoid.

Back to Bradford; how should it be used? It shouldn’t be used. If it is already in your yard, consider it a big, short lived perennial and enjoy the color while it lasts. When they begin to fail, cut them down and replace with a better variety of tree. You might consider better flowering tree choices such as Mexican plum, Mexican buckeye, redbud, dogwood, and crabapple.