Tree · Rosaceae
Bradford Pear
Pyrus calleryana
Quick to grow and wonderfully tough, the Bradford pear also splits in storms and spreads as an aggressive invasive, so it is one you are better off skipping.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 5–9
30–50 ft · 9.1–15.2 m
Overview
If a Bradford pear has landed in your yard, you are in easy company, because this Callery pear was once planted just about everywhere for its neat shape and the soft cloud of creamy white flowers it puts out in early spring. It forgives poor soil, dry spells, and city pollution, which is exactly why it filled so many yards and parking lots. The one surprise is the bloom, which carries a sour smell that catches most people off guard the first time.
Behind the easy good looks sit two real flaws, and it helps to know them rather than worry about them. The branches grow at tight, weak angles that tear apart in wind, snow, or ice, so a grown tree often splits within 15 to 25 years. The harder problem is that the cultivars cross-pollinate and set fertile seed, which birds carry into the wild, where it forms dense thorny thickets that push out native plants.
That second problem has caught up with the tree, and you should not feel bad about choosing differently. Several states have banned its sale, and most experts now point gardeners toward a native flowering tree instead. The care notes below will help you look after a Bradford pear you already have, and you can manage it well, but planting a fresh one is no longer the right call.
Care
The short version: give it full sun and almost any soil, very little water once it has settled in, and hardly any feeding, and you will mostly be pruning for structure and keeping an eye on limbs that split as the tree ages.
Light
Give it full sun and you will get the best shape and the fullest flowering, though it will happily put up with partial shade. The more sun it catches, the denser and more even the canopy fills in for you.
Water
Young trees do need steady water while they settle in, but a grown Bradford pear is drought-tolerant and gets along on dry to medium moisture. Water it through a real dry spell and otherwise let it be, allowing the top half of the root zone to dry between drinks.
Soil
Few trees are easier to please about soil. It grows in clay, loam, or sand across a wide pH of 5.5 to 8.0, likes good drainage but shrugs off heavy clay, the odd wet patch, drought, and city pollution.
Temperature
Hardy from about -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C), it takes the cold of zone 5 and southern heat in stride. That very toughness is part of why it spread so far.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity suits it just fine, so there is no level for you to fuss over. Airflow matters more than moisture in the air, since damp, crowded leaves are what invite leaf spot and fire blight.
Feeding
An established tree in average soil hardly ever needs feeding. If growth stalls, a balanced slow-release tree fertilizer in early spring is plenty, and pushing extra nitrogen only feeds the soft growth that fire blight loves.
Pruning
Prune in winter while the tree is dormant, taking out crossing, weak, and narrow-angled branches to build a sounder frame. Honest pruning improves the odds, but it cannot undo the splitting weakness built into the cultivar, so plant the tree well away from strong winds.
Repotting
none
Size & spacing
Remember this is a big tree, reaching 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m) tall and spreading 20 to 35 feet (6 to 11 m) wide. Give it plenty of open room well clear of buildings, wires, and walkways, since aging limbs are prone to breaking.
When to plant
A Bradford pear follows a comforting, predictable year in zones 5 through 9. Set out balled-and-burlapped or container trees in early spring or fall, watch for the smelly white bloom in April, and look for the small brown pomes to ripen in fall, after which the birds take over and spread the seed.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Plant balled-and-burlapped or container trees in early spring or fall.
- Harvest: Creamy white flowers in early spring (April), before or with the leaves; small round brownish pomes mature in fall.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Almost everything that goes wrong with this tree falls into two friendly-to-learn groups: the structural failure it is known for and the diseases it shares with other pears. Once you can spot the early signs of each, you have plenty of time to step in before a problem grows into a hazard or moves through the canopy.
A storm splits the tree or tears off big limbs
Take heart, this is the one flaw every Bradford pear is known for, so you are not doing anything wrong. Weak, narrow branch crotches with bark pinched inside them simply give way under wind, snow, or ice, and a grown tree can tear in two, often within 15 to 25 years. Walk the canopy and look for tight V-shaped forks and several upright stems of the same size, and if you spot a tree already in trouble, an arborist can gently reduce or remove it for you.
Fix:
- Remove damaged or hazardous limbs promptly with proper cuts
- Have a certified arborist assess and reduce or remove the tree if structurally compromised
- Replace failing trees with a structurally sound, non-invasive species
Blossoms and shoot tips blacken and bend into a hook
If you notice shoots scorching black and bending over like a shepherd's crook, that points to fire blight, a bacterial infection that loves warm, wet spring weather, and it is something you can manage. Look along the branches for oozing cankers and dieback that creeps back toward the trunk. The kind thing for the tree is to prune the infected wood out 8 to 12 inches below any damage you can see, on a dry day, wiping your tools between every cut so you do not carry it from limb to limb.
Fix:
- Prune out infected wood at least 8-12 inches below visible symptoms during dry weather
- Disinfect pruning tools between cuts
- Remove and destroy pruned material; do not compost
Reddish-purple leaf spots and early leaf drop
Small reddish to purple spots that run together are the mark of Entomosporium leaf spot, a fungus that settles in during wet weather, and the good news is it rarely puts a tree in real danger. A heavy case drops the leaves early, which looks alarming but passes. Rake up and destroy the fallen leaves, open the canopy a little for airflow, and try to keep water off the foliage, and the tree will be fine.
Fix:
- Rake up and destroy fallen infected leaves
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead wetting of foliage
- Apply a labeled fungicide in spring if the problem is recurring and severe
Toxicity
Here is some reassurance: the Bradford pear is not a poisonous tree. It does not appear on the ASPCA toxic-plant lists, and the small hard pomes will not poison a pet or a grazing animal. The one honest caveat is gentle, that like apple and pear seeds the pips carry trace cyanogenic compounds, so it is worth raking up a heavy fruit fall instead of letting an animal gorge on it.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
You can relax if a cat nibbles a leaf or bats around a fallen pome, because this tree is not on the toxic lists. The seeds tucked inside the fruit do hold trace cyanogenic compounds, as most rose-family relatives do, so sweeping up the dropped fruit is a kind, easy habit.
Dogs None
There is no real poisoning risk to a dog from the leaves or the small hard pomes, so you can breathe easy. A dog that gulps a whole pile of fallen fruit might get a passing upset stomach, and the seeds carry the same trace cyanogenic compounds other pears have, so it helps to keep one from gorging.
Horses None
Horses can browse the leaves and fruit without harm in normal amounts, so there is little to worry about. As with any pear, a little cyanogenic material sits in the seeds, so the only scene worth a second look is a horse breaking into a heavy fruit fall.
Rabbits None
The leaves and twigs are not toxic to rabbits and make perfectly fine occasional browse. Just keep the seeds out of reach, since the trace cyanogenic compounds inside them are best avoided in a small animal.
Livestock None
Cattle, goats, and sheep can graze the foliage and windfall fruit safely, so a few trees nearby are nothing to fret over. The one gentle caveat is the usual one for rose-family trees, that the seeds hold trace cyanogenic compounds, so raking up a heavy fruit drop before stock pile in is the easy fix.
Birds None
Birds eat the small pomes with no trouble at all, and there is nothing here to warn them off. That very ease is, sadly, how the tree spreads its seed so far and wide.
People Safe
There is no toxic threat to people, so you can feel at ease around it. The hard little pomes are not a food crop and are not worth eating, and like apple and pear seeds the pips carry trace cyanogenic compounds, so there is simply no reason to chew them.
No special handling needed for toxicity. Wear gloves and eye protection when pruning, as escaped seedlings and rootstock sprouts can bear sharp thorns.
Varieties
A handful of named Callery pear selections have been sold over the years, mostly to chase a stronger shape or better fall color. Every one of them still crosses with the others, though, so they all feed the same invasive seedling problem.
'Bradford'
This is the original and most troubled cultivar, a dense pyramidal-to-oval tree whose famously narrow branch crotches split in storms, and even though it cannot pollinate itself, it still feeds the invasive seedling problem by crossing with its neighbors.
'Cleveland Select' / 'Chanticleer'
You will find this one a more upright, narrowly pyramidal tree around 35 feet tall and 16 feet wide, with somewhat sturdier branching and better fire-blight resistance, though it stays a Callery pear that crosses with others to spread.
'Aristocrat'
This selection offers stronger, more open branching than 'Bradford', yet it gives in to fire blight more easily and still adds to the spread of invasive seedlings.
'Autumn Blaze'
Picked for its dependable red-purple fall color and good cold hardiness, it crosses with the other cultivars to throw fertile, bird-carried seedlings right alongside the rest.
How to propagate
There are two ways this tree multiplies, and to be honest neither one belongs in a home garden. Nurseries graft the named cultivars, while the species sows itself through bird-spread seed, and that second route is exactly what turned it invasive.
GraftingDemanding
Late winter to spring (bench grafting) or summer (budding) · 1-2 growing seasons to establish the graft union
Named cultivars like 'Bradford' will not come true from seed, so nurseries graft or bud them onto Pyrus calleryana rootstock, usually a bench graft in late winter to spring or budding in summer. The graft union needs one to two growing seasons to knit together. It is demanding work, and with the tree's invasive and structural troubles, there is really no reason to take it on at home.
SeedEasy
Fall, after fruit ripens · 1-2 growing seasons to a seedling
The species sows itself with no help at all, as birds drop seed from the fall fruit and a seedling settles in over one to two growing seasons. The trouble is that cross-pollination among the cultivars makes those seedlings invasive, so growing them on purpose is discouraged and, more and more, against the law.
Myths
Bradford pear is sterile and cannot spread, so it is safe to plant.
It is true that 'Bradford' cannot fertilize its own flowers, but it crosses freely with other Callery pear cultivars and with rootstock sprouts, setting viable seed that birds carry far and wide into dense, thorny thickets. Several US states have now banned its sale outright.