It looks like you have done your research and you are well informed. You will find many people here who disagree with the planting of Callery pears. Also, Nature Hills doesn't have a great reputation.

If it weren't so late I could come up with more reasons not to plant them. Right now my brain is running a little slow. LOL

Thanks Alabamatreehugger! Unfortunately, unless I have what the Board considers "official" data to backup my comments, they will let the homeowner (also a Board member) go ahead and plant the trees...as early as this weekend! Our Board president's son owns a nursery so I have to be careful what I say about nurseries in general (implying their goal is to sell trees no matter what their impact on the area is or their suitability!)

Does anyone have any sources from government or other research organizations that the Board will recognize?

It is considered invasive in some areas and the mid-Atlantic is becoming one of them. Different cultivars of Pyrus calleryana (of which 'Bradford' and 'Cleveland Select' are two) have transformed from sterile plants to fruit producing plants. It is a pest in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee for sure.

Encouraging the use of native trees is a "feel good" approach you can try. Most people are sensitive enough to environmental issues to consider preferring native trees to non-native ones - especially non-native ones with issues like this one.

You CAN look a gift horse in the mouth. While it is very kind of him to give you these trees (why? because they have too many and can't sell them?), but I think that the Board needs to take some time and research their choices more now that they have decided that they are willing to add some landscaping to that area.

If I were a member of your homeowner's association, I would appreciate the Board considering this more carefully.

Native choices for white flowering trees (since they is "nothing more beautiful in the spring") include Serviceberry (Amelanchier) and Hawthorn 'Winter King'. Both of these trees produce fruit that is beneficial to birds (native birds especially). Newer cultivars of Serviceberry also have outstanding fall color and no unpleasant spring smell!

Thanks esh_ga. The problem I'm running into is that everything says "Bradford Pear", not "Cleveland". The Board member who is donating these trees insists they're not the same and that the problems w/Bradfords are not problems w/Clevelands. [He purchased quite a few for his yard and has some left over so he's offered to plant and water them until they become established.]

So unless I can find specific references to "Cleveland" or a definitive link of Cleveland to Bradford or Callery citing shared problems, we're going to have a dozen or so Cleveland Pears on our community lot by the end of this weekend!

Both are cultivars of the same plant. Bradfords are known for splitting and the Cleveland Select cultivar supposedly has a better structure for that issue. However, they both contribute to the potential invasiveness.

Look at the link below and note the part about cross pollination. 'Bradford' itself is vegetative clone - the same plant is produced over and over. By itself, it was sterile and produced no fruit. Once other cultivars came about (like 'Cleveland Select'), you had two cultivars that were not clones and "benefited" from cross pollination between themselves, thus producing fruit.

From the link below:

However, with time other callery pear cultivars were developed and introduced into the nursery trade. With several cultivars in circulation, cross-pollination could take place and the trees began to produce fruits and seeds.

The spread of callery pear along roadsides, rights-of-way, and in successional old fields was first noticed in southern Maryland and around Washington, DC. In Pennsylvania naturalized populations are known in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. Naturalized populations generally exhibit characteristics of the species including wide-spreading branches and thorniness. Fruit size may vary from ¼ inch to nearly 1 inch in diameter." [Ann F. Rhoads and Timothy A. Block, Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania]

If you do a Google search, you should turn up dozens of citations documenting the invasiveness of Pyrus calleryana - that's not in dispute. But the primary reason it has become such an invasive pest (and the one cause that many have a tendency to conveniently overlook) is the development of supposedly 'superior' cultivars like the Cleveland (or Cleveland Select, Select, Chanticleer or any of the other assorted names this tree is sold under) and their promotion as substitutes for the Bradford. It is their introduction that has provided the cross pollination services to allow all these various cultivars to fruit and set seed readily so that NO cultivar is omitted from the invasive potential and we are becoming overrun with what the Sierra Club refers to hybrid "Frankenpears". To date, no sterile cultivar of this plant has been developed so ALL, including the Cleveland, are suspect and should be avoided.

A thought to consider in your campaign is that the term 'Bradford pear' has come to refer to pretty much any cultivar of callery pear, in much the same way that 'Kleenex' is used interchangeably with any other brand of facial tissue. What is out there causing the invasive issues are no longer 'Bradfords' but hybrid, fruiting callery pears. In Maryland in particular this species is of immense concern as an invasive and so whatever you can do to deter any further planting of ANY cultivar of Pyrus calleryana is to be commended.

Here's and additional link:
http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/archived_invaders/archived_invaders_2007_04.html

gardengal48, great links - I'm putting your mdinvasive one below to make it easier to click on. That article is dated April 2007 so it is very timely and the contact name is a person at DNR.

I like the additional reference in your other link (noted at the bottom of the page) - "Who Let the Pears Out?". That's from the South Carolina Native Plant Society; here's a direct link.

Certainly beuhl, you've got some good Maryland specific links now.

It's cheap McFlora. Is that what you want in your community?
It perfect for the industry because in 10 years you have to pay big bucks to have it removed and then you have to buy another tree. Yay!

Serviceberry would be an excellent choice for birds. Also, blackhaw/viburnum prunifolium is a small tree that's native to your area - I assume it has the same attributes as all the various viburnums on my property, that is, they grow very rapidly, are bullet proof, make attractive flowers in late spring, and provide fruits that are adored by birds and other critters.
All the callery pears are so tacky!
Sherry

I'd rather see a Yoshino Cherry tree planted than a Cleveland Pear. Neither are long lived, but at least the cherry wouldn't be invasive and have flowers that smell like vomit. Maybe you could awe them with the wonderful pictures (that may be what it takes).

Even the people at the US arboretum that introduced flowering pears in the beginning regret doing so!

White Oaks. Shagbark/Shellbark Hickories. Sugar Maples. All much better choices than the invasive McFlora.

Thanks again...I haven't heard from the other Board members yet so I don't know what the final decision will be.

Thanks for all your suggestions for alternate trees. The pears were being donated and that was the only reason we were going to plant there. We will probably not plant anything else. We tried other trees about 8 years ago but all but one died due to lack of water. There's no easy way to get water to the area (I don't know how the Board member w/the pears planned on watering.)

However, the info will not go to waste...we plan to add trees to our property so this will help me decide which ones to look into. Based on all the research I've been doing (thanks for the links!), I will also be removing the Butterfly Bush and Japanese Barberry in our current gardens. *sigh* I really liked the Japanese Barberry...I'll have to see if I can find something similar that is not invasive.

Thanks again!

Thank you for your open mindedness and cooperation. It is not every day a gardener takes the initiative to take action with invasives they have when we tell them the bad news. Instead they want to argue.

My brother has won several awards for his rural NE landscaping, and he swears by the Pear trees. He likes them better than crabapples. I have 5 cleveland selects in my own (CO) yard, and they are not invasive (here), but they ARE very beautiful ... and the the fall leaf color is amazing. I would say the risk of snow damage is a non-factor in your area ... so why not give the trees a chance? They are quite narrow in form, more so than bradfords. I don't think they will change the character of your neighborhood substantially. I really think you'll find yourself powerless against a HOA board member anyways ... and perhaps, just digging yourself into a neighborhood feud you might later regret.

Uh, because he's in Maryland, where pears are already a major invasive problem?

Just a thought.

If you can't move the board away from the pears without creating a battle in the subdivision, maybe the trees won't grow there. You said a previous planting died?

With donated trees & volunteer care, it can be hard to get the board to turn them down, though the volunteer care may evaporate after a year? To combat this, you may need to be more proactive than just opposing the pears. Recommend alternative species that are attractive and native to your area (maybe improved cultivars) then you may have to donate the trees, just be sure to pick ones that won't need care or you'll be hauling water & weeding.

Would you be lucky enough to have the trees listed as an invasive species, or better yet as a noxious weed by your weed & pest district?

Buehl,
See Dave's Garden link for specific negative comments about Cleveland Select pear. Also, "Coming Plague of Pears" article from extension agent put out eight years ago and reprinted many times.
Consider coming to MNPS meeting in Montgomery Co, Tuesday night. (get some of the board to attend also) They will get an earfull about callery pears. www.mdflora.org
Sam

It seemed that all of the nurseries around here had gone big for Cleveland Pears this year, FWIW. Last year, they liked "Aristocrats". I hear something called the "New Bradford Pear" will soon be gaining traction. Maybe they could look into that one.

As far as Serviceberry trees go, it's really a job trying to find one. I have only seen two, hidden way in the back.

Sorry I haven't been back... It looks like one tree may have been planted. I talked to most of the HOA Board Members (of which I am also a Board member) and they, unfortunately, have the attitude of "so what?" They also say:

* we already have lots of pear trees in the neighborhood so what's a few more?

* whatever we do won't matter so why bother worrying about it

* if the nurseries still sell them they must not be that bad

* we already have so many other invasive plants [canada thistle, multaflora rose, & tree of heaven] what's one more?

Both Howard County and the MD Dept of Natural Resources have asked that we not plant them but the response I got on that one is "if they aren't stopping the nurseries from selling them then it must not be that important or that much of a problem"

VERY frustrating...I tried explaining about being "environmentally responsible" and how if everyone has that attitude then they're right, nothing will help; but if we start by taking a stand and doing something about it then we can make a difference...

*sigh* I tried. It looks like we have a long way to go here in Maryland and, in particular, Western Howard County!

Thanks for all your support!

Sorry about that, buehl. I'm sure it left a sour taste in your mouth.

whatever we do won't matter so why bother worrying about it

It's that kind of attitude all over the place that is driving this country into the ground. So few people are willing to make a difference, take a stand, even understand what the issue is .... As long as people have what they want, the heck with the rest of it!

But you were (and still are). Good for you! Thanks for trying. And you never know, you just might have planted the seed in someone's mind that you can choose not to use problem plants.

What is the root system of a cleveland pear like?