[pottstim]

Well, my folks just lost their 3rd Bradford Pear Tree in the as many years. A couple of weeks ago, we had some pretty good storms with lots of wind, and the tree must have gotten a crack in it. Wednesday about a 1/3 of the tree was laying in the yard. They got it cut up and put it out to the curb. This morning, another 3rd was laying on the ground. I just got done helping them a bit ago cut the rest of it up and put it out to the curb. About the only good thing I see about these trees, is the fact that they grow fast. Other than that, they are just too darn weak. Too bad they still have 2 of them left in the yard. Anyone else have any negative experiences with Bradford Pears?

 

[WeatherMan]

I Love Those Trees I have my drive way lined with them

 

[turfsolutions]

You are correct sir, Bradford pears do suck.

 

[locutus]

Had an icestorm last year and needless to say i didnt see one bradford pear in my neighborhood that wasnt in splinters. some were huge, providing the people that owned them with some pretty good shade. now they have none. Odd thing is people replanted them, eventhough in my opinion they are the weakest tree on the planet.

 

[pottstim]

Originally posted by WeatherMan
I Love Those Trees I have my drive way lined with them

They are nice to look at, no doubt. And they fill out really nice, too. But man, I could probably lean up against one and rip off a good fart and the thing would probably come tumbling down.

 

[Curtis]

Bradfords require alot of prunning and triming especialy in the middle and the Y's in the limbs where weak points are . That,s what I'm doing now , cutting alot of the extra growth out caused by all the rain this year , before all the winter weather rips em apart . It also lets the wind get through alot better . Besides I'm charging extra and adding to the bottom line , no complaints from anyone.........

 

[pottstim]

Originally posted by Curtis
Bradfords require alot of prunning and triming especialy in the middle and the Y's in the limbs where weak points are . That,s what I'm doing now , cutting alot of the extra growth out caused by all the rain this year , before all the winter weather rips em apart . It also lets the wind get through alot better . Besides I'm charging extra and adding to the bottom line , no complaints from anyone.........

Very good point, Curtis. I understand what you are talking about. This particular tree was loaded with little pears, and the branches weighed a ton. The pears were also full of water when I broke one of them open. I helped my folks prune those trees back last June, but it evidentally wasn't enough.

 

[locutus]

I have never seen a bradford pear with a pear on it of any size. I thought it was a sterile hybrid.

 

[pottstim]

Originally posted by locutus
I have never seen a bradford pear with a pear on it of any size. I thought it was a sterile hybrid.

I'm not exactly sure, locutus. They did resemble a pear in a way, but they are tiny, maybe a 1/2" long or so. I just assumed they were called a pear, because of the name of the tree. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this.

 

[Turfdude]

Bradford pears = Self destucting trees! They get too weighty for the crotches and and then w/ the help of a little limb, a massive section blows out. Most growers have switched to redspires or Cleveland select pears!

 

[yardmonkey]

"Has anyone else had negative experiences with Bradford pears?"

Yes, probably about a thousand people in Norman, Oklahoma. Why do people plant them? No telling. Why are they even sold?

We had a big storm here a few weeks ago and there were hundreds, maybe thousands of these trees split, often right to the ground. Lots of silver maples also damaged and in this particular storm (a big one with strong straight-line winds of up to 70mph) there were numerous other trees damaged and many large trees actually even uprooted. But the Bradfords got first place for sure, as usual. I remember another storm a couple of years ago - split Bradfords all over the place. This is not a "natural" tree. I guess people thought they could make a better tree than nature.

 

[yardmonkey]

But then I have had some positive experiences with them - getting paid to chop them up and haul them off!

 

[xpnd]

Originally posted by locutus
I have never seen a bradford pear with a pear on it of any size. I thought it was a sterile hybrid.

A BP is sterile and will have no fruit. Many Aristocrat Pears are sold as BP. They look nearly identical when they are small. AP will usually have small fruits no larger(normally smaller) than a golf ball and are inedible. AP still have a weak branching structure but I think slightly better than BP. For a one week display of flowers that usually occurs during a heavy spring rain, I think these trees are just too much trouble for what you get out of them. They don't even make good fire wood when they do split.

 

[pottstim]

Originally posted by xpnd
A BP is sterile and will have no fruit. Many Aristocrat Pears are sold as BP. They look nearly identical when they are small. AP will usually have small fruits no larger(normally smaller) than a golf ball and are inedible. AP still have a weak branching structure but I think slightly better than BP. For a one week display of flowers that usually occurs during a heavy spring rain, I think these trees are just too much trouble for what you get out of them. They don't even make good fire wood when they do split.

Interesting post, xpnd. Thanks for shedding some light on this.

 

[Pecker]

The only Bradford's I know of are ornamentals. They make pretty little fairytale looking trees (in the warm months), the they get really messy in the Fall (but the leaves turn pretty colors). For a pretty tree, I like the Live Oak the best because it is an evergreen. Here in the south they tend to hold up ok during winter but we don't have many ice storms either. I just have a thing about fruit trees that bear no fruit - What's up with that? If I'm gonna have a fruit tree in my yard it better give me something to eat or its going to the fire place!

 

[mower_babe]

Originally posted by pottstim
They are nice to look at, no doubt. And they fill out really nice, too. But man, I could probably lean up against one and rip off a good fart and the thing would probably come tumbling down.

man-o-man ----what do you eat?!? lay off taco bell for awhile, bud!

 

[pottstim]

Originally posted by mower_babe
man-o-man ----what do you eat?!? lay off taco bell for awhile, bud!

hehehe....just some good humor, M_B. that statement was probably a bit too gross though. :blush:

 

[GLAN]

Nothing wrong with the Bradford Pear, not realy........They are high maintenance.

As Curtis said. Prunning and openning them to allow the winds to blow through them is essential.

There is a variety with better branch structure and less susseptable to spliting. The Carolinus (SP) variety is what is replacing the standard Bradford Pear

 

[Mike Bradbury]

They are the Silver Maple of today. Trash. Sure look nice. For awhile.
Clevelands do much better around here.

 

[twippingbillie]

Bradford Pears are really pretty trees especially when they turn all white with flowers in the spring.

We had one in the front yard that fell over the new car. Then we lost 1/3 of the BP in the backyard and it took a year for the other half to fall down.