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Are these Bradford Pears?

Started by mkitchin, June 05, 2017, 04:01:54 PM

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mkitchin

Hello all. First post here. I have seen many issues caused by Bradford Pears over the years, but I have never had any in my yard before. I'm in the Nashville, TN area. I just moved into a new house. I'm far from an expert (obviously) in this are. I have 2 trees that seem to resemble Bradford Pears. One is decent sized and close to my house. Can someone help me confirm if either of these are Bradford Pears? If so, everything I read tells me I need to get rid of them and plant something else. I love having a tree in each of these spots. I hate to have to remove a tree, but I know most of these eventually split and cause a lot of damage. The leaves on the big tree don't look like a Bradford, but the trunk formation seems suspicious. Everything about the little tree looks like a Bradford. Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Big Tree:

 
 

  

  

  

 
Little Tree:

 
 

  

  

 

Ianab

Welcome to the Forum.

First tree look like Wild Cherry, Prunus avium. It's native to Europe, but it's a common ornamental and even naturalised in many parts of the world. Should have nice pink or white blossoms in the Spring.

Not sure on the 2nd. I'll leave that to someone else.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

curdog

Second one is a Bradford Pear...

thecfarm

Them suckers need to come off so it will bear better.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

WDH

Yes, I am with curdog on the 2nd one.   
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

plantman

First on is definitely a cherry perhaps Kwanzan, not sure. It looks like it was grafted. Second tree is a Cleveland Select Pear , also called Chanticleer pear. The first pears in ornamental production were Bradford Pears but they were very wide and round in form. The Cleveland Select is narrow and tall like yours.

mkitchin

Thanks. Does it have all the undesirable characteristics normally associated with bradford pears? I assumed it did, so I planned on removing it in the fall.

plantman

The Cleveland Select Pear was developed to suit smaller properties where people didn't want a 35' wide tree but also because the Bradford was fairly weak and tended to split when they get a ice load on them. So the narrow tall tree tends to avoid that problem.
So this tree satisfies someone looking for a fast growing narrow tree that will produce an abundance of flowers. It's good for privacy between houses or above the top of a fences. It makes a nice screening with you plant a number of them in a row. The leaves are not too big and fairly easy to cleanup in the fall. The one thing I'm not thrilled with is that the central leader or leaders can grow too fast  and the tree can look lanky. So sometimes it doesn't have a great natural look . But for the most part it fills a need and doesn't seem to have too many insect or disease problems. It's a very popular tree in the nursery business.

Quote from: mkitchin on July 09, 2017, 05:14:31 PM
Thanks. Does it have all the undesirable characteristics normally associated with bradford pears? I assumed it did, so I planned on removing it in the fall.

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