'Bradford' - Black Sheep of the Flowering Pears

With recent windy conditions here in the Midwest, once again Bradford pears have been disfigured or even completely destroyed. Many gardeners write off flowering pears because of the original introduction many years ago, 'Bradford', which is a terrible variety to plant. The weak branching structure all but insures that after a few years, severe damage will occur from high winds. However, not all flowering pears are genetically flawed. The original BRADFORD flowering pear is inferior, for sure. However, there are newer varieties that have superior branching structure and can hold their own in strong winds. They still have a great shape, wonderful flower display in the spring, and beautiful fall color. These varieties include 'Cleveland Select', 'Aristocrat', 'Redspire', 'Trinity', and even one called 'New Bradford'. No reputable nursery should ever be marketing the original 'Bradford' flowering pear, but the big box stores still do (although they are slowly getting better), so the vast majority of people think Bradford is the only variety available, and associate the variety Bradford with the entire flowering pear population. The problem is that the name 'Bradford' is being used by people in the same way people say "I need a Kleenex." or "I put a Band-Aid on my cut." The words Kleenex and Band-Aid are brand names commonly used for any facial tissue and any adhesive bandages, respectively, and are much easier to say in everyday speech. It's the same with Bradford pear. Many people would be surprised to learn that there are actually other great varieties of flowering pear they could plant and enjoy. That said, I do think flowering pears are overused and often misused. A lot of people think flowering pears are never going to outgrow the original compact lollipop form, but they certainly do! Given enough room and used wisely, they are a great addition to a landscape, but they shouldn't be used everywhere and by everybody when so many other great ornamental trees are available.

That is a pretty good summary of the status of ornamental pear production today.

Additional information:

There is room for improvement even among the selections mentioned above. Ample opportunity exists, since with multiple clones planted quite widely across North America, there are plenty of seedlings germinating from bird-deposited seed. Enterprising horticulturists should find more free germplasm than at which they can shake a Pyrus stick. It is easiest to locate these volunteers in the late fall (striking foliage colors) and early spring ("fragrant" white flower clusters, which mop out brown with inadvertent frosts).

These seedlings should be collected in earnest, lest the chance for naming the latest and greatest Pyrus clone be missed. Don't leave any by the roadside for the highway maintenance crews to mismanage or to be wastefully mispruned by the utility ROW tree companies. And watch out for the keen-eyed land manager that will simply pull these and leave them to die.

Dang - it'll be months before I get my tongue out of my cheek...

Unfair to black sheep!!

;-)

Ba-a-a-a-d puppy!

I have endeared myself to one of the grounds keepers at my workplace by suggesting that we prune all of our callery pears at ground level.

Bradford, Cleveland Select, Aristocrat -- who cares? They all [insert inappropriate derrogatory term here].

[reproduce prodigiously]

The ones about town here are mostly Bradfords because they have been here forever. However, years ago they planted more and I am sure they were some of the other types because after that all the Bradford type flowering pears around town had fruit set. And years ago they never used to. They use them for street trees all around town here. One year on one street in town they did plant flowering cherries instead. I was so surprised to see that.

Might want to check this out.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/73633/

I just finished up Master Gardener training. Cleveland Select was recommended as a replacement for the Bradford for the NW Ohio region. It seems that even the experts can disagree.

What about the Chanticleer pear? My local community association has just suggested several large scale plantings with Chanticleer--is this tree subject to the same problems as Bradford?

'Chanticleer' flowering pear is the SAME as 'Cleveland Select' (also the same as 'Select' and 'Stone Hill') according to Michael Dirr, and is highly recommended. Not as wide as most flowering pears, great flowering and fall color. 35' X 16' in fifteen years.

I was wary about pear trees, even though they're so beautiful in the spring, but after much research, I decided to put in a Cleveland Select. I put it 45 feet away from the house, which should give ample clearance (even decades from now) in case it blows down the way Bradfords do.

The Cleveland Select is a beautiful tree, and much stronger than the Bradford. I planted a 45-gallon container-grown tree last spring. Some watering problems (since corrected by a French drain) led to early leaf-drop, so I didn't get to see the fall colors. However, this spring was a real treat. The tree blossomed early, and was solid white for a week. For another week, it was green and white, and is now solid green. It is a very shapely tree, and brightens up that corner of the yard. Not a single twig has fallen, even with the 70-mph wind we had last week that broke branches off nearby elms.

I'm quite pleased with the Cleveland Select. It makes a fine specimen tree. Right now, it's surrounded by banksia roses climbing over a nearby six-foot fence. The soft green of its leaves, and pleasingly regular shape of the branches rising above the yellow roses is quite appealing.

I didn't measure it last spring, but from photos, it appears to have grown about a foot. It will probably reach 30 or 35 feet, its mature height, in another 10 years or so.

Michael Dirr also says, "Have noticed numerous escapees and P. calleryana seedlings are forming monocultures in some areas of the South."
Well, this isn't the South, but I drive past thousands of these trees everyday, all seedlings. To me, P. calleryana (and all its cultivars) is just a bunch of weeds waiting to happen.

Come visit historic Valley Forge and see a bunch of Chinese/Korean trees.

Hoosier- I appreciate your informative post.

I was stunned by the number of pears blooming on roadsides around here this spring.