With spring just around the corner, the questions about Bradford pear trees have started to roll in. The bottom line: These are some of the worst trees you can have on your property.
Let’s break it down:
- Invasive Troublemakers: First, they’re not native to the area. Bradford pears may look innocent enough, but they’re anything not. They spread like wildfire and crowd out native plants, thanks to birds munching on their berries and spreading seeds everywhere. Before you know it, your yard could be overrun, and those sharp thorns? They’re a literal pain.
- Unstable and Hazardous: They’re about as stable as a house of cards in a windstorm. These trees are notorious for their weak branches and shallow roots due to their fast growth rate. This makes them a liability waiting to happen.
- Stinky Berries: Those berries might seem harmless, but they emit a foul odor that attracts flies like nobody’s business. Trust us, you don’t want your yard smelling like a dumpster (or looking like one when the berries and flowering buds fall off).
- Short Lifespan: Bradford pears don’t stick around for long. If you’re lucky, you might get 25 years out of one—but don’t count on it. You know the storms we get in the Chattanooga area; these weak trees rarely make it to a full life span.
- Getting Banned: Some places have already had enough of Bradford pears. South Carolina banned them, and Kentucky is offering free trees to anyone who’ll say goodbye to their Bradford pear.
So, what’s the alternative? From Eastern redbuds to flowering dogwoods, there are plenty of beautiful, native flowering trees that won’t cause you headaches down the road.
Want to have your trees inspected? Give us a call for a free, certified Tree Risk Assessment with one of our arborists. They’ll assess any of your trees for damage, pests, bacteria, and more to provide you with a detailed report regarding the health, safety, and liability concerns of your trees.
