The city of Herculaneum and a few other online sources have recently posted helpful tips for pruning Bradford pear trees. The once-revered ornamental landscaping plants, now recognized as invasive, are notorious for how easily their branches shear off in storms.
Recent spring turbulence has reemphasized the need for tree trimming and observing safety in chainsaw use. The procedure is simple; one cut across the stump as close to the ground as possible is recommended to eliminate future troubles.
And there’s a bonus. Missouri residents can receive a free replacement tree on Earth Day, April 22. The annual Callery Pear Buyback Program from the Missouri Invasive Plant Council returns, thanks to co-sponsors including the state Department of Conservation, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri and the Forrest Keeling Nursery.
I was able to participate for the first time this year. I discovered a rogue pear tree in my woods last summer, marked the menace and returned this spring to make the final cut. And the April 22 pickup date matched my schedule.
State residents who remove a Callery pear tree from their property can receive a free native tree from one of more than a dozen locations. Participants must register before April 17 and provide a photo of the tree they eliminated. For more information and registration, visit moinvasives.org.
The expanded list of pickup locations includes Park Hills in St. Francois County, where I will receive my new green hawthorn. The nursery stock won’t immediately stack up to the 20-foot tree it’s replacing, but it will be the right size and time of year for replanting.
As the old proverb proclaims, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second-best time is now.” Anytime in April is very good. It’s the reason the month hosts Arbor Day and Earth Day.
I certainly won’t miss the wild-in-the-woods tree I’m trading in, so I know it would be much more difficult for those who have big flowering beauties in their yards. But the trouble they cause cannot be overstated.
As the conservation department reports, Bradford pear trees and their relatives proliferate rapidly through seed dispersal and vegetative means. They quickly form dense thickets and choke out native trees and plants. Because they produce their buds and leaves earlier than other plants each spring, their growth shades out opportunities for wildflowers and other species.
Among the replacement trees suggested by the department are American plum, flowering dogwood, eastern redbud, hawthorn and serviceberry, which are all spring bloomers and native species.
The hawthorn and dogwood were listed as available at Park Hills when I registered for my tree, but they have run out since then. Other options at that location include black gum, cherrybark oak, elderberry and white oak trees.
The buyback program began in St. Louis and Columbia in 2019 and has expanded to include 17 locations this year. In 2024, 630 donated trees were distributed around the state in return for the removal of Callery pear trees.
Yes, the pear tree’s abundant white flowers are a pretty precursor to spring’s warmer weather, but the beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. Not only are these trees susceptible to damage in storms, they smell bad and their falling fruit stains sidewalks. There’s a lot not to like.
And there are much better options. On a recent hike south of Festus I spotted a few serviceberry trees with clusters of bright white flowers. The puffy balls of white stood out in the gray wood landscape. As a native species they were much more appealing than the annual roadside clutter of the rogue Bradford pears.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.