Bradford Pears Banned

Written by Z Sakrupa

Finally, the worst smelling trees in Ohio are to be put on a banned list of no-grow trees. For years we have been plagued with the nasty smell of fish and white petals everywhere when the dreaded Bradford Pear tree blooms, and of course those little, circular “pears” which end up on the bottom of your shoes in the fall.

Beginning in September of 2023, the Bradford Pear tree will go on the no-grow list in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has added it to their list of invasive plant species, meaning it will be illegal to plant or sell them. The ornamental tree was brought over from Asia by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1960s. It was valued for its beauty and size when compared to native species, but I am not sure why as it’s not very pretty. However, the Bradford Pear has spread like wildfire throughout the state. The tree was originally bred to not produce fruit, but that changed after it came into contact with other pear varieties.

Ohio will be the second state to ban the Bradford Pear tree. Pennsylvania banned it earlier this year, hopefully with more to come in the near future. “You’ll see it a lot of times in a vacant lot that maybe was disturbed by construction and then left sitting. And then you can see thousands of pear seedlings coming up and they really just take over,” said Dan Kenny, Ohio Department of Agriculture chief of the division of plant health.

The trees have taken over vacant lots, along the highways and throughout wooded areas. They spread quite easily as it turns out. Hilliard, as we know, has a very strong liking for the tree, they are everywhere. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources added Callery pears and all their varieties to its list of invasive species in 2018 and gave five years for tree nurseries to phase in the change.

photo credits: Z Skarupa