can we have a pic or two ...???

get rid of the pear in toto ...

the rest are not exotic plants ... just do what you want ... if they fail in a year or 3 .. replace them .. eh??

i wouldnt live with what i hate.. simply to prove myself a tree hugger ...

ken

"Probably" okey-dokey to remove. I know I would. Second the Ken words to the effect that the pear is an unworthy item in today's world. Invasive as all heck in many parts of N. America, let alone tendency towards poor structure issues.

What level were the trees were planted at? If the planter boxes predate the trees and the trees were planted in them, the trees might end up planted too shallowly if they were removed. (Though they could still be replaced with a gently sloped berm). If they were put in around the trees removing them is a no brainier.

When end you remove them, take the opportunity to check for girdling roots.

Ed is correct, but I'll bet-this is a guess-that the boxes came later. Just saying....that's the usual pattern.

And if the boxes came later and the trees are fairly large and growing well, they may have grown a bunch of fibrous roots up through the soil in the planters. Don't be afraid to remove the roots, it won't hurt the trees.

The boxes look like they came later but maybe not. The neighborhood is 34-44 years old and the original trees I can see have been cut down. SO the boxes might have come in at the same time as the new trees. I'll upload some photos. I'm in Kerrville, TX 50 miles north of San Antonio. Bradford pear trees are a staple of this area by the way. Here's a link to all four pics. My main concern is the level of soil within the boxes. Thanks again. https://goo.gl/photos/eBz4fsEdaZv3xPpv6

sheesh i was picturing 2 to 3 foot high boxes ...

in my world.. you want to remove some edging blocks.. go for it ...

if your pear is properly IDd as the invasive one ... then it is not a correct response to say you are keeping it.. because everyone else has them ... would you use the same logic with a pitbull??? .. or would you get a pitbull becasue everyone else had them ... [of course this is where you tell us.. you raise them.. lol]

ken

Thank you all very much!! No I don't raise pit bulls, lol! I'll post another picture link to this thread after they are removed.

i would not go trying to scrape down whatever little mound there was ... why damage the roots ...

and i might add some soil from behind the garage.. wherever.. to make it less likely to twist an ankle .. filling in holes.. not multiple inches of a top coat ...

think about the pear.. and removing it ... and thats the end of what i will say on that ...

ken

I would like to reinforce what was said above. We had a tree planted by a professional nursery. They created a berm around the tree and said fill it with water for the first year and they removed it. I did the watering, but was negligent in removing the berm.

The berm was about 14" high and 20" wide and about 8' in diameter. When I removed the berm about 18 months after it was planted, the tree had started sending roots into the berm. I dug into the original surfaces and reburied the roots I found. The tree is doing great. Having increased it size by 50% in the 4 years since it was planted.

If your trees have had the raised bed for any length of time, the tree has probably filled the bed with roots.

Remove the planters from around, I don't see it hurting the tree. apply a strong herbicide to the bradford pear to save your landscape.