Latest news with #BradfordPear
Daily Mail
03-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Map shows why New York smells most disgusting in spring - and it's saving the city $8m a year
New York City is known for its array of strange smells, from urine to body odor, but one tree is filling the streets with a particularly unpleasant stench. The Callery Pear tree, which is in the same family as the Bradford Pear, has a distinctive smell that many people find disgusting. So if you find yourself scrunching your nose up this spring, that's why! The Callery Pear litters the Big Apple's streets in all five boroughs, so there's no escaping it. You might even find the invasive species beautiful due to its white flowers - it's one of the first to flower as winter breaks away. But the tree releases the compound trimethylamine and that's what causes the fishy smell, native New Yorker Olivia Rose told after sharing a recent TikTok. The compound can be found in semen and ammonia and it's a pollinator attractor. 'The fact that they attract pollinators now - mostly flies and beetles - is more of an ecological irony. The scent is designed to mimic decay - that's what pulls in the bugs. Turns out, some of them think semen smells like Byredo [perfume].' The peak stink comes between mid-March and mid-April as the tree begins to bloom. 'That's when they bloom and the smell is unmistakable - funky, fishy, and wafting through the city,' Olivia said. 'It's released during the early bloom. [The] Bradford Pear evolved to attract flies and beetles, many of which are drawn to the scent of decay.' The trees first came to New York City around the 1970s as 'as part of broader street beautification efforts,' Rose told 'There are plenty of invasive species growing around the city, but they were not planted with malice,' Olivia, who has a degree in landscape architecture from Cornell, told NYC has 65,591 of these trees and NYC Parks estimates it saves the city $8million a year through stormwater interception, energy conserved, and air pollutants removed. However, the trees aren't all they are cracked up to be, Olivia said. 'The Bradford Pear seemed like an ideal choice: a picturesque tree with a lollipop form, early white blooms, fast-growing, inexpensive, and able to thrive in polluted and compacted soil. 'It was thought to be sterile and low maintenance, but widespread planting of other Callery pear cultivars led to unexpected cross-pollination - sparking a wave of invasive offspring.' NYC no longer plants these trees and certain states, like Ohio and Pennsylvania, have banned the trees due to being invasive. 'They weren't kept for pollinators. It was a visual choice. It was fast. It gave impact. Pretty - and symmetrical,' Olivia told The trees are native to China and Vietnam that grow up to 26 feet tall. In the springtime, the tree produces white flowers, but as the weather gets cooler, it blossoms red, pink, orange, and more, according to NYC Parks.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
This is the final show for York's flowering Bradford Pear trees: Removal coming in August
(This story was updated to change or add a video.) You may love them for their showering white canopy or hate their pungent smell, but this spring is the final show for York's iconic white flowering Bradford Pear trees. Here since the 1970s, all will be removed starting this August as a new chapter for downtown York's tree-lined Market Street begins. Softly leading into the announcement of their demise during an Arbor Day tree planting at Penn Park April 8, 2025 in front of the student body of Jackson Elementary School, Tom Landis, superintendent of York City Parks and Recreation, described how some of the trees in the park marked with an 'X' on them had reached the end of their lives. Referring to some of the historic Penn Park trees, Landis began, 'It is sad to see those trees go. Be assured we are committed to put two to three trees back where that tree will be coming out.' The children helped plant several new trees during the event, and one has a plaque at the roots dedicated to the class with the current date so they can come back, watch it grow taller over the coming decades, and remember the day. The lesson about the cycle of life for the children led into the announcement by Landis about the Bradford Pears: 'Although the news may catch some residents off guard, the replacement is necessary due to the declining health of those trees.' The trees have grown considerably since the 1980s when then Mayor William Althaus could be seen striding past the young trees beneath the fresh balconies of the newly restored National House. They were planted in the mid-1970s. Over the years, the girth of their upward shooting branches have become prone to cracking off and have become a hazard. 'The time has come to move forward with the tree removal project to preserve the beauty of our downtown area while ensuring the safety of travel for pedestrians and motorists,' Landis said. A native of Southeast Asia, the tree introduced to the U.S as a popular planting beginning in the 1960s, what seemed like a good idea is now banned due to their invasive nature. More: Bradford Pear trees: Foliage or foe? The not-so-sweet truth about popular landscape plant According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture website, 'Callery pear, Pyrus calleryana, was added to the Pennsylvania noxious weed list in November 2021.' After a tightening list of restrictions since that date, a Stop Sale/Destruction order was issued to plant merchants selling or distributing Callery Pear, also known as a Bradford Pear in 2022. After York public works removes the trees, the city will partner with The Rotary Club of York to pay for removing the stumps, restoration of the tree wells and planting new trees in time for fall, Landis said. According to Landis, two different varieties of trees will be planted, one will be flowering. The city will provide more details about the new trees at a later date Landis said. This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Planted in the 1970s, York's Bradford Pear trees' days are numbered
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Life finds a way: Why the Callery Pear Tree is such a problem in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — They're a tree you won't see in many nurseries anymore. The Callery Pear and its variations are all over the state, with ongoing efforts by environmental organizations to remove them. Imported from Asia, the trees were originally used as landscaping for their more desirable qualities. They're big and round, with white flowers blooming in the Spring. But their drawbacks quickly became apparent, with the smell being most obvious. The Kansas Forest Service says for the Sunflower State the problem grows much deeper than that. 'It also has kind of a more ominous nature to it,' Shad Hufnagel, Forest Health Director for the Kansas Forest Service, said. 'They grow so aggressively that they will push out native vegetation and disrupt natural ecosystems.' The tree was thought to be incapable of reproducing, which was part of the appeal. 'These trees that were initially … independently sterile, have found a way to cross pollinate because of these cultivars that have been developed, including the Bradford Pear,' Hufnagel said. The Bradford, Cleveland Select and Aristocrat are some of the sub-variations (cultivars) of the Callery Pear. To mitigate the spread, the Forest Service are going so far as to renew their buy-back program for Callery Pears in 2026. The tree is well-known to nurseries in Wichita, like Johnson's Garden Center. 'I hate to cut down trees, but if they're causing problems then it has to be dealt with,' Ryan Johnson, Assistant Manager at Johnson's Garden Center said. He hasn't seen any this year, but Johnson frequently deals with customers looking to replace their Callery Pears. He and the Forest Service agree that these trees and their cultivars are ill-suited for the Kansas environment. 'For Kansas, at least. It's just very structurally not sound for our winds. [With] the branching structure, you can lose half that tree in a heavy wind storm,' Johnson said. Losing your pear tree doesn't mean there aren't options. Local nurseries offer plenty of other trees, perfectly suited for your garden and for the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Experts say Bradford pear trees crowd out plants native to Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Although their early March blooms make them popular for many homeowners, some experts say the Bradford pear can have a negative impact as it crowds out other plant and tree species native to Tennessee. In undeveloped land and forested areas where they are left to multiply and spread on their own, they can easily be seen taking over the territory — but some experts said they should be banned. FEBRUARY: Resolution seeks study on impact of Bradford pear tree in Tennessee In February, Rep. Clay Doggett proposed a resolution urging the University of Tennessee's Institute of Agriculture to complete a comprehensive study about the effect of Bradford pear trees on agriculture and forestry in the state. This resolution recently passed in the state House of Representatives and will head to the state Senate. Agricultural and natural resources extension agent Amy Dunlap, who works with the University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University extension in Davidson County, explained the tree's downside. 'The Bradford Pear is invasive,' Dunlap said. 'It doesn't offer as many benefits for wildlife, but it also is, unfortunately, able to out-compete a lot of our native species. When it comes to the competition for resources — whether it's nutrients, space [or] sunlight — those Bradford pears can typically do better than some of our native species. We are seeing an imbalance and an over-representation of them.' Dunlap said if you're a property owner, the UT-TSU Extension is available to recommend the right types of plants and trees for your land. 'One of the big things we teach in a lot of our curriculum and classes is picking the right plant for the right place,' Dunlap said. 'Not always, but a lot of the time, that means turning towards our native Tennessee species. Not only do they cause fewer issues in the long run, which is cheaper for the homeowner, but they're just very well adapted to our environment. They do provide for our native wildlife and other native species that might rely on them for a food source or for habitat.' ⏩ You can follow this link to find out what plants and trees might be best on your property and to contact your county's agricultural extension agent Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Resolution seeks study on impact of Bradford pear tree in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — There is a new proposal to look at the effects of a well-known tree that some say should be banned in Tennessee, the Bradford pear. Rep. Clay Doggett (R-Pulaski) is encouraging colleagues to support a statewide study of the impact of the Bradford pear. Experts believe many of the impacts are negative, including the crowding out native plants, the trees' rapid spread and the vulnerability of the tree to strong storms. The resolution claims the Bradford Pear is now in more than half the counties in Tennessee. Bradford Pear HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 150Download Nashville hot chicken up for official state food in Tennessee legislature 'They just disrupt ecosystems, I definitely think they should not be planted in any capacity whatsoever, any outright ban would be a win for the state of Tennessee,' explained Jason Sprouls with the Nashville Tree Foundation. South Carolina has just joined the list of states banning the Bradford pear tree, which includes Ohio and Pennsylvania. Other states are also considering bans. The resolution will be discussed Tuesday by a state house committee, which would urge the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture to do a study looking at the effect the Bradford pear tree has on agriculture and forestry in the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
