To ensure that each Callery pear tree had bright blooms, red foliage and other desired traits, horticulturists created identical clones through a process known as grafting: creating seedlings from ...

Once Callery pear has escaped into natural areas, its seedlings produce very sharp, stiff thorns that can puncture shoes or even tires. This makes the trees a menace to people working in the area ...

The Callery pear tree’s aesthetically pleasing, upward-facing branch structure meant limbs would rip and fly off during storms, threatening to injure people and damage cars and homes.(Kelly Oten ...

Why are there so many Bradford pear trees? The Callery pear’s biggest offense might be its apparent desire to take over the entire planet with its ever-increasing populations of seedlings.

When the suburbs boomed after World War II, the Callery pear tree was chosen to line many miles of tree-lined streets. Now it's being banned in some states.

As of 2023, it is illegal to sell, plant or grow Callery pear trees in Ohio, with similar bans to hit other states in 2024. By Ryan W. McEwan / The Conversation Published Mar 8, 2023 9:00 PM EST ...

Pear trees have widely planted since the 1970s because they were cost-effective, ... The sharp thorns that grow on wild-growing Callery pear seedlings also make them difficult and painful to manage.

Over the years, Callery pear, or Bradford pear, has become one of the most widely planted ornamental trees in the US. And, frankly, it stinks. Why do Bradford pear trees smell so awful?

When the suburbs boomed after World War II, the Callery pear tree was chosen to line many miles of tree-lined streets. Now it's being banned in some states.