08-04-2025
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
