Bradford pear removal
Bradford pears grow fast, split apart around their twentieth year, and spread thorny wild seedlings into every field nearby. Ohio has banned their sale. We take them down in winter, grind the stump below grade, and leave the yard ready for a better tree.
Why Bradford pears come down
The Bradford is the best-known variety of Callery pear, planted along streets and in front yards for decades because it grows quickly into a neat white cloud each April. The trouble is the way it is built. Several upright stems grow from the same point on the trunk at tight angles, with bark trapped between them. As the tree gets heavier, those forks pull apart, and a wet snow, an ice storm or a summer gust is often what finally splits it down the middle.
It also escapes. Birds eat the small fruit and drop the seeds, and the wild seedlings come up as thorny thickets that crowd out native plants. Ohio added Callery pear to its invasive plant list in 2018 and, after five years of notice, made selling it illegal in January 2023. (University of Cincinnati) Nobody has to take an existing tree out, but most owners who have watched one split decide it is time.
Why winter is the time
With the leaves off, the forks and old splits are easy to see and easy to work around. Frozen ground carries the truck with less damage to the lawn. And a pear taken down in winter never gets its spring bloom, so it never sets the fruit that seeds next year’s wild pears.
How the removal runs
- A free look and a written price We check the tree, what it would fall on, and how the truck reaches it. If you have several pears, they are priced together.
- Taken down in sections Pears near a house or a driveway come down on rope, piece by piece. In an open yard, a pear is often felled whole, which is faster and cheaper.
- Stump ground below grade Down far enough to seed or plant over, which also makes it far less likely to send up new shoots.
- The yard is put back Brush chipped and hauled, ruts raked out, the spot ready for whatever goes in next.
Down, chipped and cleared
From the crew’s phones: the truck and chipper on a September job, the trunk sections on the lawn, and a backyard cleared after an October job.
What people ask about Bradford pears
Is it illegal to have a Bradford pear in Ohio?
No. Since January 2023 it has been illegal to sell Callery pears, Bradford included, but trees already in the ground can stay. Removing them is encouraged, not required.
My Bradford pear split. Can the rest be saved?
Almost never. Once one stem of a tight fork tears out, the wound runs into the trunk and the remaining stems carry the same weak fork that just failed. The safe answer is to take the rest down before it picks its own moment.
Why do Bradford pears smell bad?
The spring blossoms give off a strong, unpleasant smell, which is the complaint we hear first, even before the splitting. A winter removal means you skip the next bloom.
Will it grow back from the stump?
Grinding the stump well below grade makes regrowth far less likely. If a sprout comes up afterward, cut it off at the ground and let us know.
Can you take out the wild pears along my fence line too?
Yes. Thorny pear thickets along a fence or the back of a lot can be cleared on the same visit. See lot clearing for larger areas.
More to do while the leaves are down
Get the pear out before it splits
Pick a window for a free look. You get a written price for the tree, the stump and the cleanup, all on one sheet.