SPOTLIGHT ON PLANTS

Pyrus calleryana, Bradford Pear
Deciduous tree. Height: 30-50 ft. Grow in full or part sun. Tolerates unamended soil. Drought tolerant once established.
With spring right around the corner, the flowering ornamental pear trees will begin to show their beauty.
Bradford Pear trees have been planted by the thousands in recent decades and some older trees have earned a bad reputation for splitting off due to weak crotches and brittle limbs that are liable to break during storms. Do not give up on ornamental flowering pear trees.
Newer cultivars such as Chanticleer and Cleveland Select have been selectively bred for improved characteristics such as different crotch angles to make it much less susceptible to wind breakage than Bradford.
One ornamental flowering pear attracting attention in the nursery industry is Pyrus fauriei ‘Westwood’ pear or more commonly known as Korean Sun pear. The flowering pear has the same pure white flower display in mid-March as the more commonly known callery pear or Bradford pear, but its growth habit is distinctly smaller, 15-20 feet. The branches form wide, nearly horizontal angles, (crotch angle) making for terrific structure that is reliable in storms and severe winds. ‘Westwood’ pear is less likely to split, as it will not form codominant leaders and included bark.