Tree · Rosaceae
Bradford Pear
Pyrus calleryana
Fast-growing and tough, the Bradford pear also splits in storms and spreads as an aggressive invasive you're better off not planting.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 5–9
30–50 ft · 9.1–15.2 m
Overview
The Bradford pear is a Callery pear, a fast-growing ornamental tree once planted everywhere for its tidy shape and the cloud of creamy white flowers it throws in early spring. It tolerates poor soil, drought, and city pollution, which is why it filled so many yards and parking lots. The bloom comes with a sour, unpleasant smell that surprises people the first time they catch it.
Behind the easy looks sit two serious flaws. The branches grow at tight, weak angles that tear apart in wind, snow, or ice, so mature trees often split within 15 to 25 years. Worse, the cultivars cross-pollinate and set fertile seed that birds carry into the wild, where it forms dense thorny thickets that shove out native plants.
That second problem has caught up with the tree. Several states have banned its sale, and most experts now steer gardeners toward a native flowering tree instead. The care notes below cover how to manage a Bradford pear you already have, but planting a new one is no longer a sound choice.
Care
The short version: full sun and almost any soil, very little water once it's settled, and next to no feeding, but expect to prune for structure and to deal with limbs that split as the tree ages.
Light
Plant it in full sun for the best shape and flowering, though it will put up with partial shade. The more sun it gets, the denser and more even the canopy fills in.
Water
Young trees need steady water while they establish, but a mature Bradford pear is drought-tolerant and gets by on dry to medium moisture. Water it during a real dry spell and otherwise leave it alone, letting the top half of the root zone dry between drinks.
Soil
Few trees are less fussy about soil. It grows in clay, loam, or sand across a wide pH range of 5.5 to 8.0, prefers good drainage but shrugs off heavy clay, the odd wet spell, drought, and urban pollution.
Temperature
Hardy from about -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C), it handles the cold of zone 5 and the heat of the South alike. That toughness is part of why it spread so far.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity suits it, so there's no level to manage. Airflow matters more than moisture in the air, since damp, crowded foliage is what invites leaf spot and fire blight.
Feeding
An established tree in average soil rarely needs feeding at all. If growth stalls, a balanced slow-release tree fertilizer in early spring is plenty, and going heavier on nitrogen only pushes 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 structure. Honest pruning improves the odds but can't undo the splitting weakness built into the cultivar, so site the tree away from strong winds.
Repotting
none
Size & spacing
This is a large 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
The Bradford pear keeps to a clear yearly rhythm in zones 5 through 9. Plant 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 birds 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
Most trouble with this tree falls into two camps: the structural failure that defines it and the diseases it shares with other pears. Learn the early signs of each and you can act before a problem turns into a hazard or spreads through the canopy.
The tree splits apart or sheds big limbs in a storm
This is the tree's signature flaw. Weak, narrow branch crotches with bark pinched inside them give way under wind, snow, or ice, and a mature tree can tear itself in half, often within 15 to 25 years. Check the canopy for tight V-shaped forks and several upright leaders of the same size, then have an arborist reduce or remove a tree that's already compromised.
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 curl into a hook
Shoots that scorch black and bend over like a shepherd's crook point to fire blight, a bacterial infection that spreads in warm, wet spring weather. Look for oozing cankers on the branches and dieback creeping back toward the trunk. Prune the infected wood out 8 to 12 inches below any visible damage during dry weather, and wipe your tools between every cut so you don't carry it along.
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 followed by early leaf drop
This is Entomosporium leaf spot, a fungus that takes hold in wet weather and peppers the leaves with small reddish to purple spots that run together. A bad case drops the leaves early but rarely threatens the tree. Rake up and destroy the fallen leaves, open the canopy for airflow, and keep water off the foliage.
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
Good news on this front: the Bradford pear is not a poisonous tree. It doesn't appear on the ASPCA toxic-plant lists, and the small hard pomes won't poison a pet or grazing animal. The one honest caveat is that, like apple and pear seeds, the pips carry trace cyanogenic compounds, so it's worth raking up heavy fruit falls rather than letting an animal gorge on them.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
A cat that nibbles the leaves or a fallen pome should be fine, since this tree isn't on the toxic lists. The seeds inside the fruit hold trace cyanogenic compounds like most rose-family kin, so it's still smart to keep the dropped fruit swept up.
Dogs None
Dogs face no real poisoning risk from the foliage or the small hard pomes. A dog that bolts a pile of fallen fruit may get a passing upset stomach, and the seeds carry the same trace cyanogenic compounds as other pears, so don't let one gorge on them.
Horses None
Horses can browse the leaves and fruit without harm in normal amounts. As with any pear, the seeds within the pomes contain a little cyanogenic material, so a horse breaking into a heavy fruit fall is the only scenario worth watching.
Rabbits None
The leaves and twigs aren't toxic to rabbits and make fine occasional browse. Keep the seeds out of reach, though, because 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. The only caveat is the usual one for rosaceous trees: the seeds hold trace cyanogenic compounds, so a heavy fruit drop is worth raking up before stock pile into it.
Birds None
Birds eat the small pomes with no trouble at all, which is exactly how the tree spreads its seed so widely. There's nothing to warn them off here.
People Safe
The tree poses no toxic threat to people. The hard little pomes are not a food crop and aren't worth eating, and as with apple and pear seeds, the pips carry trace cyanogenic compounds, so there's 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 few named selections of Callery pear have been sold over the years, mostly chasing a stronger shape or better fall color. Every one of them still cross-pollinates with the others, so they all feed the invasive seedling problem.
'Bradford'
The original and most infamous cultivar, a dense pyramidal-to-oval tree whose notoriously narrow branch crotches split in storms, and though it cannot fertilize itself it still feeds the invasive seedling problem through cross-pollination.
'Cleveland Select' / 'Chanticleer'
A more upright, narrowly pyramidal form around 35 feet tall and 16 feet wide, with somewhat sturdier branching and better fire-blight resistance, but it remains a Callery pear that crosses with others to spread.
'Aristocrat'
It carries stronger, more open branching than 'Bradford' yet falls to fire blight more easily, and it still adds to the invasive seedling spread.
'Autumn Blaze'
Chosen for dependable red-purple fall color and good cold hardiness, it cross-pollinates with the other cultivars to throw fertile, bird-carried seedlings just like the rest.
How to propagate
There are two ways this tree multiplies, and neither one belongs in a home garden. Nurseries graft the named cultivars, while the species sows itself through bird-spread seed, which is exactly the route that 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' won't come true from seed, so they're grafted or budded onto Pyrus calleryana rootstock by nurseries, usually with a bench graft in late winter to spring or budding in summer. The graft union takes one to two growing seasons to knit. It's demanding work, and given the tree's invasive and structural problems there's little reason to attempt it at home.
SeedEasy
Fall, after fruit ripens · 1-2 growing seasons to a seedling
The species sows itself easily, with birds dropping seed from the fall fruit and a seedling taking hold over one to two growing seasons. The catch is that cross-pollination among the cultivars makes those seedlings invasive, so growing them on purpose is discouraged and increasingly against the law.
Myths
Bradford pear is sterile and cannot spread, so it is safe to plant.
'Bradford' can't 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.