Hi, tree lovers!
I have recently purchased a Cleveland Select Bradford Pear. Anyone have any tips and/or suggestions for the care and feeding of this plant? Can someone tell me the best time to plant? I am in zone 5, and there is a freeze warning tonight into tomorrow. Right now it is in the pot in my greenhouse. Should I just leave it there or move it in and out as the weather dictates? Does it need any special care or feeding?
I would appreciate any and all suggestions!
Thanks!
Sharon
Care and feeding of a Cleveland Select Bradford Pear
Return it to the shop, saying you didn't realise (a) how stinky the flowers are, (b) how highly prone it is to storm damage, and (c) how invasive its abundant seedlings are.
Then select a better tree to plant instead . . . which means almost anything ;-)
Resin
Do you realize the Cleveland Select is a cultivar that has fixed these issues? Yes, the Bradford Pear is a weak tree, but the Cleveland cultivar is not. The reason I wanted one is there are many where I live that are huge trees that have been there for many years. I have not noticed a "stinky" odor either.
"Fixed".
Visit some of the sites that illustrate the "coming plague of pears" - Ohio included.
That this selection has a bit better architecture than other Callery Pear clones is little reason to continue its promulgation.
Do as you wish, but not because information was lacking.
I have two large "ornamental" pear trees. I have no idea what they are, as they got here long before I did. They are done blooming this year, but, as usual, I never noticed a bad odor from them. I've not had an issue with seedlings, but there is one similar at the edge of the woods in back. Don't know if it grew by itself, but because there are also daffodills there, I suspect there may have been a homesite, once.
One of these trees (at least) seems to have been the product of a graft. There is one section (getting bigger each year) that grows fullsized pear-like objects. I've never been able to get them to ripen, but the cows love them. This tree is now considerably smaller, not as a result of breakage, but because it was cut back by the Butchers sent by the electric company. It shorted out the lines during a snow storm.
There are a couple of trees here that have "unknown" fruits, and this year I will again try to get some ID on them:)
I thought I saw the Flowering Pear mentioned as the most overplanted tree in America. Last house had 4. They grew top heavy and broke in the wind.
Sharon, one of the reasons the Bradford-type pears have become ubiquitous in cities and yards is that the tree is not fussy in regards to special care. Of course, the tree has quite a "rap sheet", but for three weeks in the fall, the foliage on the pear in my front yard is magnificent.
Also, in the spring it is beautiful. Haven't noticed a smell either, however, one of my Cleveland pears graft was so poor the tree didn't thrive, but the suckers sure did. For one reason or another, the stump wasn't dug out and the next spring we had a bush with long (like Washington Hawthorne) stickers on it. My DH would strongly prefer that the other tree be kept so we have made a deal. He has to keep it sucker-less or I get to cut it down. It is only five years old and the shade is nice. We will see how long it lasts. The Bradford pear we had at our other house broke apart in the first wind after we took our a diseased spruce that had been acting as a windbreak. Will not plant another!
"Will not plant another....." is what we want to hear.
I think they smell bad but I've noticed that some folks can't smell them at all. We had one in our backyard when we moved in and it came down 3 days after it bloomed.
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