Missouri Department of Conservation Warns of “Invasive” Bradford Pear Trees

Conservation Department Warns of “Invasive” Bradford Pear Trees
By Kate Stacy, Broadcast on KOLR 10, January 24, 2012
TV video link: http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=591252

( Springfield , MO ) — It might seem a little early to think about spring planting, but there’s already a warning out about what kind of trees you should put on your property. What was once considered the universal tree is becoming a pest, and experts are asking that you please plant something else.

“They were originally one of the best trees in the world,” says Tim Stanton, Forestry Regional Supervisor at Missouri Department of Conservation. “They were the perfect tree: good fall color, spring color, good shape.”

But that’s no longer the case for Callery pears, popular around the Ozarks in the ” Bradford ” variety. “They’re mass producing and taking over, basically,” says Stanton . “The new ones come out as thorns and they can take over a property to where you can’t walk through it.”

What the ice storm didn’t take, foresters will, when it comes to the hybrid the Callery’s are creating. “We are actively pursing the eradication of the hybridized pears; they’re the ones that are not native,” says Casey Kellner, an Urban Forester with the City of Springfield . “We’re getting ready to go through some of our bridge and waterway area and begin removal of the hybridized pear. We are cutting them out and treating the stump so it doesn’t regenerate.”

Callery’s still make up about 4-percent of Springfield ‘s tree population, but the city’s already planting in preparation for these to be gone. “We can get some sumac seedling that provides bank stabilization and gives fall color but isn’t going to overgrow,” adds Kellner.

“We would prefer a native species,” says Stanton . “Right tree in the right place.” Despite the concerns, conservationists say Bradford Pears are still a number one seller at nurseries.

The City of Springfield begins its removal process in the coming weeks. If you have land, conservationists recommend brush hogging, mowing, and using herbicide to curb the problem.