This Bradford pear was planted by the previous owners ~20-25 years ago. We loved it when we moved in…until we realized what it was. It's in decent health for as big as it is, but it was never properly pruned and it traps so much moisture it's causing mildew problems in the rest of the yard and crowding out the other trees. We know the right thing to do is to cut it down. But it's still hard to say goodbye to an otherwise healthy tree that's the focal point of the yard. It's scheduled to come down next week but I'm still feeling bad about the decision.
by violetsfemme
25 Comments
Look into grafting edible pears onto it!
I just recently learned that was an option after decades of cutting them down professionally. Haven’t had the opportunity to try grafting them yet, but it’s possible
It’s a PoS invasive tree. You are doing the world a service by removing it. Plant a native in its place and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
This article does a pretty good job demonizing the ornamental pear: [https://www.nashvilletreeconservationcorps.org/treenews/why-nashvillians-should-cut-down-bradford-pear-trees](https://www.nashvilletreeconservationcorps.org/treenews/why-nashvillians-should-cut-down-bradford-pear-trees)
I’ve been to Bradford, never seen a pear like this, it obviously an imposter, eliminate it.
Don’t shoot the messenger, but I’m pretty sure I saw your wife with that Brad at the movies last week.. 🤷
They smell like cum.
Fuck the vagina tree, stanky nasty tree. These trees suck chop it down, hollow out the stump and plant a nice oak tree there instead
https://imgur.com/y3IZYJa
Bradford pear to the right. Kept dropping major branches during storms
The fact that you care makes it a very exciting opportunity to choose a splendid replacement. You can learn so much in researching and choosing what you want and then following through and setting up a tree or whatever you choose (native shrub?) for long term success. It’s a rewarding project and in paying close attention, being mindful in what you do with your yard after removing it, you, in a way, also honor the death of this tree in the wrong place in the world. All life is connected and by killing an invasive tree, then adding something, anything that’s ecologically valuable, you’re honoring every life affected.
r/fuckbradfordpears
They smell like cum and are invasive.
Kill that thing.
You should always always always feel proud and happy to cut down a Bradford pear! The more that are killed the better!!!!
I get it, sucks to remove a tree that provides so much shade. Especially when it takes so long to reach that stage for other trees.
But consider! Bradfords have structural issues. They can fall over from a sneeze. Thunderstorms can take them out. Hurricanes claims swathes of them every year. Seeing one that old is impressive! But at the size where they are very too heavy. Most survivors are in wind protected areas.
They are invasive plants, meaning that their offsprings escape cultivation and muscle out the native plants. Trees in particular are essential for most moth and butterfly species. The caterpillars feed on very specific plants. Oaks for example can host over 400 species. Song birds in particular need the caterpillars to rear their chicks. Due to the caterpillar’s high protein, fat and micronutrient content. There was a study conducted by Doug Tallamy that observed chickadees delivering 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to raise their brood to fledgling. With Bradford pears, you get a tree equivalent to a wobbly statue. Almost not wildlife value in them.
The Bradfords are sterile, but only to other members of the same cultivar. They outcross with other cultivars and produce these thorny offsprings. The offspring are structurally more robust than their parents and have thorns to dissuade browsing from large herbivores.
And of course, the malodor. Their primary pollinators are flies. Some people find it smells like sour crotch, a sock that has been coated in semen, or the sour mucus of dead fish.
On the bright side, some counties have Bradford bounties. They will give you a free tree in exchange for removing your Bradford.
They stanky
I smoked a brisket using Bradford wood, and it was really good, if that makes you feel better.
Here you can at least say it wasn’t that bad. Last week I cut down a 13 year old Cleveland Pear. My son is 13 years old. His favorite person in the world, his Grandpa, my FIL, died 2 years ago this month. He planted the tree in our yard and always called it (son’s names tree). After seeing a volunteer pear in our treeline, I cut it down. I am not popular with my wife or son right now.
Talk to someone at local nursery about replacing it with something that feeds wildlife.
semen tree
If you don’t cut it down some storm will for you. Take my word for it
It sucks to get rid of a tree that size. But keep in mind, at that size your tree has probably contributed to hundreds or even thousands of these trees coming up in places they shouldn’t be, choking out and outcompeting native trees and creating dead zones in what’s left of our local ecosystems. For every oak that can’t get a start because of these things, that’s thousands of caterpillars per year that can’t feed (and hundreds of baby birds that don’t have food).
Plus aren’t you tired of your yard smelling like stale semen every spring? You know you are.
You’ll have room for something like redbud and pawpaw.
Redbuds are gorgeous in the spring with pink flowers, like a cherry.
Pawpaws are an understory tree with large edible fruit.
You could go crazy, and plant a honey locust for that spiky goth vibe.
Way to lead by example!
Take it down. Those things have a funk, a fragile crown, and are useless in their wrong environment.
Your gonna love the way it looks….and your grass will love it…it’s like a giant solar panel that blocks your view and yard…and gives you rank ass smells 🤣🤣🤣
there are many different reasons, but the biggest is that the odds are that tree has some big branch break off and eventually kill the tree, so you will just be having this convo then, while you could have been growing a native tree this whole time.