The Callery pear is one of North America’s most popular ornamental trees, with cultivars known as Bradford', Cleveland Select or Chanticleer, Capital, Redspire, Whitehouse, Autumn Blaze and 'Aristocrat'. They’re lovely in the spring – sporting delicate white blossoms, but Lori Chamberlin at Virginia’s Department of Forestry says the species poses a problem.
“It’s native to Asia, and it was introduced to North America in the early 1900’s, and it didn’t really well here – a little too well, and so we see it taking over some of our natural areas.”
Dense groves of Callery pear block sunlight, so small native trees like red bud, serviceberry, oak and dogwood can’t survive on the forest floor, and that’s bad news for the birds and animals that have evolved here.
“Callery pear actually is not great for wildlife. It is not a preferred host of caterpillars, and many of our young birds need to eat caterpillars to develop.”
The trees are also structurally weak – prone to snapping in stormy weather, so the state has launched a pilot program to replace them. People in and around Charlottesville were invited to cut down Callery pears and exchange them for native varieties. The idea proved so appealing that the state is no longer inviting people to participate in Saturday’s tree exchange. It does hope, however, to expand to other parts of Virginia next year.
