LOCALnews

Our Bradford Pear Trees:

Beautiful, Invasive, and Dangerous

By Patricia Valentine

Bradford Pear trees are found everywhere in Columbia, MD. In the spring, we await their gorgeous clusters of creamy-white flowers, and we’re never disappointed. Bradford Pears were planted not just in Maryland, but liberally all over the Eastern U.S. Originally these ornamental trees were thought to be sterile (no fruit), but unfortunately, they did cross-pollinate with other pear trees and have multiplied. When birds feast on the fruit, they spread the seeds of this Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana) everywhere, causing ecological and economic damage far into the future. These beautiful trees, originally chosen to enhance the Hawthorn neighborhood where I live, have instead invaded our community. The limb structure of the Bradford Pear is another problem. The branches often grow out broadly and densely as the trees mature, providing wonderful shade during the hot summer days. However, these beautifully arching branches are weak because they all grow from the same area of the tree and are susceptible to splitting, especially during strong winds, heavy ice, and snow. Mature Bradford Pears have become a hazard, dangerous to people, property, and roadways. Our Tanglewood Homeowners’ Association (HOA) community (18 homes) decided to act on this problem. The HOA reached out to the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBTrust) and Howard County Forest Conservancy District Board for a community grant to replace these invasive trees with native species. The Bradford Pear qualified because it has been designated as invasive by both the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Division of Natural Resources.

The community got to work: In December 2020, we removed four Bradford Pear trees. In March 2021, they were replaced with 13 native trees, planted by 25 volunteers. Underground utilities limited the planting area, so the HOA chose smaller native trees. These include Redbud, Southern (Green) Hawthorn ‘Winter King’, Serviceberry, ‘Little Gem’ Magnolia, American Hornbeam/ Musclewood, and Black Gum (Tupelo). Six residents are sharing the three-year watering responsibility, necessary for the plants to thrive. Since each tree needs 20 gallons of water each week, volunteering to water is both a significant commitment and long-term undertaking. Readers are invited to visit our project along the 6300 block of Sunny Spring (road) near Dusty Glass in Columbia, MD. Let’s watch them grow! Questions? You can contact us at Tanglewood.21044@gmail.com. o

Tricia Valentine came to appreciate trees while growing up in New York, NY, where every tree counted. Summer vacations to woodlands and forests instilled in her a love of trees. While working as an environmental planner, her understanding of the importance of maintaining stream buffers and forests deepened. Her passion for tree planting grew while she served on Maryland Forest Conservancy District Boards in Harford and Howard Counties for more than 20 years. Fortunate to be hired by the Neighborhood Design Center to support the urban tree program in Prince George’s County, MD, she became an arborist and roadside tree expert.