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April 21, 2008 : Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford'
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Plant Family / Families: Rosaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford'
Name Location: cultivated in Missouri, USA
Thank you to shotaku@Flickr of Missouri, USA for sharing today's photograph (via Flickr BPotD Pool | original image). Appreciated, as always!
Not all horticultural success stories turn out well in the end. Voted by the US National Landscape Association in 1982 as the second-most popular tree in the USA, 'Bradford' pear has fallen into disrepute. It has prompted such article titles as, "The Pros & Cons of Bradford Pears", " Who Let the Pears Out?", and perhaps most ominously, "The Coming Plague of Pears" (thanks to Michael F for suggesting the latter two links on the UBC forums recently). Long story short: near-ideal street-tree planting due to disease resistance, lack of fruit production, fast-growth and adaptability turns out to have a weak growth structure for resisting ice and wind as well as fruit production when other related cultivars are introduced and cross-pollination can take place. The latter quality, combined with its adaptibility, is now revealing the invasive potential of the plant. It is now recommended in some areas to avoid planting new trees, as well as removing established ones.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at April 21, 2008 11:19 AM
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Comments
Posted by: Ginny (in Maine) at April 21, 2008 12:48 PM
Another downfall is the horrible smell, somewhat reminscent of feline sprays. I have always preferred the Apricot as a substitute.
Posted by: Mike Bone at April 21, 2008 12:49 PM
i will post my first thoughts
oh for goodness sake what now
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at April 21, 2008 12:55 PM
Decent looking tree when in bloom, but a definite no-no for planting here in the northeast. A Pear split & destroyed a Jeep behind my office a couple of years ago. Within a week, all of the Pears were removed from the parking lot & replaced with Acer Rubrum.
Posted by: J at April 21, 2008 12:57 PM
Pyrus, py-rus; classical name for a Pear tree. Plant Names Simplified, Johnson and Smith
calleryana ka-le-ree-ah-na. After J. Callery, a French missionary who collected the type specimen. Dictionary of Plant Names, Coombes
Posted by: Beverley at April 21, 2008 1:15 PM
"Another downfall is the horrible smell, somewhat reminscent of feline sprays"
Also compared to a mixture of vomit and rotten fish.
Posted by: Michael F at April 21, 2008 1:57 PM
Troublesome, yes. But when in full bloom in the South, it is a sight indeed to see lining the freeways and streets. Eventually it will all be taken out and replaced, as have other "wonder" plants in the past. Still, I look forward to it each spring.
Posted by: tafster at April 21, 2008 7:31 PM
A more botanical/morphological question.
I see the black/brown structures and then the pinkish structures curling inwards.
Are these two kinds of anthers?
If so, why?
Posted by: Adriel at April 21, 2008 11:01 PM
I grew ours from a stem cutting sent to me by the National Arbor Foundation....... so does that mean it is free of the thorny parts? And if it will grow so well from a stem cutting, why the grafting in the first place?
Posted by: Carol B at April 22, 2008 5:42 AM
The two different colors of anthers represent two different stages of development--they don't mature all at once.
Here in TX, this tree provides reliable fall color, but it's short-lived, stinky, and over-used.
Posted by: Monique Reed at April 23, 2008 7:33 AM
I have been researching P. calleryana for a little over 6 months now and this is the most beautiful picture of a Bradford flower I have seen, Thank you!
Posted by: Jenn at March 19, 2009 3:29 PM
I manage a retail nursery in S.W. Ohio. After hurricane Ike in Sept.'08 split and destroyed hundreds of 'Bradfords' we can't give them away. Other cultivars are beautiful and stronger.
Posted by: Mark S. at April 21, 2009 5:48 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Wow, a stunning close-up of a plant I never had much interest in...reminding me again to look closely. Thanks to you both, Daniel and photographer.