I'm going to be planting a couple of small- to medium-sized trees to replace an enormous spruce in our yard that blew over in the storm we had about five weeks ago. Since I started my research, I've learned that I am very picky about trees...or at least about how they look. ;) I have been back and forth and back and forth again about planting a flowering pear. It fulfills all my weird self-imposed aesthetic requirements and would be the perfect size, etc. BUT I have read probably all the posts about them over on the trees forum so I know all about the negatives, too. I just didn't post over there for fear of being flogged. ;)

Some time ago someone posted a link to a pdf on the USU extension's website with a big chart listing trees for Utah (great resource, btw - thank you!). There are several trees on the chart that have a symbol next to them that indicates something like "don't ever plant this tree" (box elder; silver maple; northern catalpa; European ash; Russian olive; pin oak; various poplars, willows and elms; aspens; tamarisk). But there is no such symbol next to the flowering pear, so it would seem according to this chart and USU that it would be ok to plant a pear...although it DOES mention the breakage problems, which is fair enough. Are they just afraid to say "don't ever plant this tree" (the callery pear) because they know they are so popular? Or do they grow in this climate not quite as weak-wooded and problematic as in other parts of the country? For what it's worth, the Colorado Tree Coalition named the callery pear as their "tree of the month" for March 2003. :) Would they do that if it was truly a "trash tree?"

I recall someone on this forum (or the trees forum) mentioning that even though pears were so reviled, they had a locust that they would never plant again because it had breakage problems just as frequently. Well, there is a full-grown locust on the front corner of our lot that occasionally has small to medium limbs come down in storms...if that is the main problem I can expect to have, then that is fine with me! There is a big hole in our now empty front yard. I would like some re-growth in there fairly quickly, as I reasonably expect to be in the area another 5-10 years max. I have come up with some alternatives, largely because of all the scary, bile-spewing posts I have read on the subject, but I am still wondering....should I just go ahead and plant one if it is my first choice? I realize they are invasive in other parts of the country, but that is not the issue here. Thanks for reading.