NC Forest Service and others help rid NC of the Bradford Pear stench
The NC Bradford Pear Bounty offers up to five free trees to replace your Bradford pears.
Posted — UpdatedIt's that time of year again, when the smell of rotting fish fills the suburbs as Bradford pear trees begin to bloom. The smell comes from a combination of trimethylamine and dimethylamin, emitted by the trees to attract pollinators like birds which spread seeds far and wide.
Rapid growth, drought tolerance, and easy transplantation of these ornamental trees has made them a popular choice for developers who install one in each front yard of many suburban neighborhoods.
But what was once described as the perfect tree became and invasive species as birds spread them into natural forests. Bradfords and their descendents displace native trees that cannot compete according to Kelly Oten, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist at NC State. Their early foliage shades out later developing native species reducing biodiversity.
Arborists know it as pyrus calleryana, a member of the rose family native to portions of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Pyrus is Latin for pear and calleryana honors Joseph Callery, an Italian missionary to China and botanical collector who brought it, and 2,000 other plants, back to Europe in the 1800s.
NC Bradford Bounty Program
The event in Spindale, NC on April 6, 2024 is open to all North Carolina residents. Another on May 4, 2024 is open only to residents of Henderson County.
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