If you're looking to plant something beautiful, don't let it be a Bradford pear says Durant Ashmore. TESALON FELICIEN/Staff
A callery pear tree’s beauty is deceptive.
There’s no denying the tree’s showy white flowers are eye-catching when they begin blooming in early spring. However, underneath those pretty blossoms lurks an invasive tree that can cause multiple problems for native trees and native habitats.
Since its North American introduction by the tree nursery industry in 1960, the callery pear has gained so much popularity as a tree selection that most people refer to all ornamental pear trees by one of the callery’s most successful cultivars — the “Bradford pear.