Heard a landscaper in Des Moines call a Bradford pear a 'trash tree' and it got me thinking

I was grabbing coffee and overheard him telling a homeowner they're weak, split easy, and smell bad. I looked it up and found out they're an invasive species in a lot of places. Do you guys ever try to steer people away from planting certain trees like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

betty_coleman28d ago

My neighbor planted two Bradford pears last spring, and one snapped in half during a mild thunderstorm. The cleanup was a huge mess of splintered branches and those awful smelling flowers. I told him to replace it with a native oak instead.

alexpalmer28d ago

Those awful smelling flowers are the worst. My old apartment complex lined the parking lot with them. Every spring it smelled like dead fish and rotting garbage for weeks. The branches are so brittle, even a stiff wind would cover cars in white petals and broken twigs. Total junk trees, good for nothing but causing a mess.

wendym8728d ago

Honestly, it's the same with so many stuff we buy now. People just grab what looks nice at the store or what the builder puts in, without knowing the whole story. Those trees are like fast fashion for your yard, all show and no staying power. We end up with these weak, messy things causing problems down the road because nobody told us any better. It feels like we're always fixing a choice someone made without thinking it through.

fiona74919d ago

Just showed my cousin pictures of a split Bradford pear and a healthy red maple. He went with the maple.