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Of A Bradford Pear |
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Of A Bradford Pear |
Bradford Pears...Why Do They Have Such A Bad Name?
Starting in the mid 1970's, Fredericksburg began planting over 2000 Bradford pears. As a certified "City of Trees", Fredericksburg soon displayed one of the most magnificent displays of mass bloom towards the end of March. We had a Pear Blossom Festival sponsored by a local community service group. Standing on any downtown street corner during the pear bloom, one had a fantastic and endless view of stark white color.
As the little trees grew structural problems began to develop. Ideally the crotch of a tree, and its branches should have an angle of about 35 degrees or greater. Turns out that the standard Bradford pear has a crotch angle of 15 or 20 degrees. A trunk or branch grows only in girth rather than height. As the branches grow in an outward manner, they also grow inwardly against one another. In time, trees with narrow crotches develop much pressure between the branches as they compete for the same space. One can almost stare at such an arrangement and visualize the pressure. A whirlwind rushing down a city street will exceed the tree's threshold of structural integrity, yielding halves of trees draped over cars and fences. The remaining half of the tree will stand tall, though somewhat disfigured.
Other complaints came forth. The merchants located on city streets where the Bradfords grew complained of a horrid odor during the bloom period. In the fall these same people complain of the onslaught of sticky, falling fruits about an inch in diameter. The local paper fills with letters to the editor regarding the "dreaded pears". Since our store is on the fringe of "downtown proper" and has no pears around the property, I have always listened to such complaints with an aloof sympathy - one which lacked empathy.
Last week I went downtown to ring the Salvation Army bell for a two hour stint. I parked my white car on a City street in a spot marked "2 Hour Parking". Needless to say, when I returned to my car, the pear bombing exceeded anything terrible thing we did as children on Halloween night. Trust me, this was not a pretty sight. The parking police had marked my tire with the white chalk "X". Fortunately, as I had not exceeded my two hours, there was no ticket. This would have been the ultimate insult to terrible injury.
So my car is a little dirty - big deal. That night on the way home I pushed my windshield washer button not once, not twice....but 4 times. I swear that I could hear the pears laughing. I debated as to whether I should do the "Hands Free Car Wash" or the "$1.75 In Quarters Hand-Held Nozzle Wash". I elected to slay the perpetrators by hand. Inserting my quarters and taking up my weapon, I pursued the invaders only to find that they thought I had paid to take them to the local swimming pool. Eventually I dislodged the pears by holding the nozzle at a 45 degree angle about 1/2 inch from the masses. I prayed paint chips would not fly. After $4.50 worth of washing, all of the pears and most of the stains were merely a bad memory.
Why then would anyone plant a Bradford pear? They are not a good street tree (see the above writings). They do make a stunning shade tree in a short period of time and they are quite stately. If I know I going to transfer to another region in 6 to 10 years, I would plant this tree for shade. Additionally, the tree itself is quite beautiful. Newer varieties such as "Cleveland Select" and "New Bradford" have an improved branching structure. A little preventative pruning can alleviate many problems. Don't discard this tree as a choice for a nice flowering ornamental, but do your homework before you decide. Selecting a tree is like selecting a puppy. They are all cute when they are little, but the size of their feet can tell you a lot. Have a good week.
Andy Lynn