Following the theme of last week’s column, today I propose to address another persistent invasive plant that is plaguing American forests, yards and gardens, namely, the Bradford pear tree. The tree is native to China and Vietnam, and was introduced to America in the 1950s, when it was heralded as being the perfect flowering tree to welcome the onset of spring each year.
American homeowners rushed to have it in their yards, unaware of the future environmental damage it was bringing with it. Advertisements presented it as a beautiful landscape accent. The tree blooms slightly before the dogwood or the flowering peach, the latter of which also does not produce fruit, but is a brilliant show of color each spring.
In the days before common understanding of the dangers to native plants caused by invasives, the Bradford pear was presented as an alternative to the native American dogwood. The public bought the spiel, and yards became the recipients of the new arrival. Although the tree does not produce edible fruit, it does produce seeds that birds and the wind can spread far and wide.
The Bradford also is poorly engineered biologically. As it matures, the limbs grow to the extent of producing weight that the trunk of the tree cannot sustain, resulting in the limbs either shearing off completely, or bending down unable to support themselves in an upright position.
Homeowners often try to prune the limbs to alleviate the damage, in which efforts they are unsuccessful, but the tree is hard-dying, limping along for years in a bedraggled state.
Each spring the Bradford is among the earliest flowering trees to burst into blossom, the flowers lasting up to two weeks. Last month my Good Wife and I traveled to the western part of the Commonwealth, passing each way through the Fredericksburg area, which I only can describe as possibly the “Bradford pear capital of the world.” The forests and undeveloped lots in the area were ablaze with the Bradford blooms. Cars were covered in its pollen over an extensive range. I assume that the invasion had begun when homeowners began planting the trees for their decorative value.
Again this year, I see stores and nurseries offering the trees for sale, all without disclaimers that the unsuspecting homeowners should have explained to them. The environmental and ultimate financial costs that these trees produce can be significant. Their root systems can be difficult to remove, even when the stumps are ground.
Other than in late March when the trees are in full bloom, the magnitude of the problem is not readily apparent. Driving along country roads in winter when the trees are bare or in the other seasons when the trees are covered in bright green leaves, one is easily not aware of the all-pervasive presence of the Bradford pear.
Spring is a different story. As with all invasive plants, the Bradford pear is a persistent threat to native plants, choking them out, consuming their water, and denying them their place in the sun.
Enough of this negative view of the Bradford pear; what are the alternatives for gardeners and landscapers? First and foremost is the native American dogwood (cornus florida), which is both our state flower and our state tree, a sure winner in any evaluation of flowering plants.
Another beautiful specimen is the shad tree, also called, by non-native Virginians the serviceberry, one of the earliest blooming trees. As with the dogwood, it prefers to be an underplanting, rather than to stand alone in the sunlight. The local name comes from its blooming during the shad runs in early spring. The serviceberry name derives from the blooming coming when the country roads were passable for circuit-riding preachers to reach their congregations to conduct the “services.”
Plants are fun. Native plants are more fun.
