Once widely planted in suburban and urban landscapes across the United States, the Bradford pear is now recognized as an invasive species spreading into natural areas and displacing native plant communities.

NC State Extension Forestry, in partnership with the North Carolina Urban Forest Council, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and the North Carolina Forest Service, is working to reduce the spread of Bradford pears in North Carolina through the NC Bradford Pear Bounty program.

“The program follows a simple remove-and-replace model: North Carolinians remove a Bradford pear from their property and receive a free native tree in return,” said program coordinator Kelly Oten, an assistant professor and Extension specialist of forestry and environmental resources at North Carolina State University. 

Launched by Oten and collaborators in 2022, the program hosts annual regional events where North Carolina residents, businesses and organizations can pick up replacement trees. Participants must pre-register for an event and bring before and after photos of their tree removal to qualify.

The program does not pay for tree removal, but it works with removal companies to offer discounts. Participants usually get one native tree for each Bradford pear they remove, up to five trees, and can choose from about 10 to 15 native species. The available trees vary by location and are posted on the program’s Facebook page and sent to registered participants before each event.

Since launching the program, Oten and her collaborators have held 18 events across North Carolina, from Hayesville to Elizabeth City. These efforts have led to the removal and replacement of more than 3,000 Bradford pears, helping restore native habitats and improve food and shelter for pollinators and wildlife.

“Removing an individual tree might seem like a drop in the bucket, but every tree removed is one less seed source and it is being replaced with something that is ecologically beneficial,” Oten said. 

Oten added that “the story of the Bradford pear is a classic case of good intentions gone wrong.” Bradford pears are a variety of Callery pear brought to the U.S. from Asia in the early 1900s to improve resistance to fire blight in edible pears and became popular for their white blossoms, fast growth, uniform shape and ability to thrive in urban settings.

From the 1960s through the 1990s, the Bradford pear became one of the most popular landscape trees in the U.S., including North Carolina. That popularity, however, would lead to unforeseen consequences.

The original Bradford variety was thought to be sterile and unlikely to spread. But when other Callery pear varieties were introduced, they could cross-pollinate with Bradford pears and produce viable seed, resulting in wild trees that spread on their own.

“By the time the Bradford pear was recognized as invasive, it had already been planted extensively across the landscape,” Oten said.

Bradford pears are considered invasive in North Carolina and other states because they spread rapidly and outcompete native trees. Birds and small mammals eat the fruit and disperse the seeds far from the original tree, allowing them to establish in new areas. The seeds grow quickly in a wide range of conditions, including poor soils, allowing them to reach reproductive maturity early and produce even more seeds.

As they mature, Bradford pears form dense, thorny thickets that suppress other plants. They also leaf out before most native species in early spring, allowing them to outshade and outcompete them. These traits disrupt food webs. Unlike native trees, Bradford pears support few insects — especially caterpillars, a critical food source for nesting birds feeding their young.

The impact of Bradford pears extends beyond the ecological damage they cause, according to Oten. The thorns that grow on their branches often reach 1 to 4 inches in length and can injure livestock and puncture tractor tires, impacting farming operations and costing landowners time and money.

Oten said homeowners and communities should target mature, seed-producing trees because this can significantly reduce the number of seeds entering the environment each year. When removing trees, she said it is important to treat the cut stump with herbicide immediately after cutting to prevent aggressive resprouting.

“Seedlings may emerge for several years, so continued monitoring and removal is key. It is much easier to pull up a seedling now than to cut down a large tree in a decade,” Oten said. 

For a larger impact, Oten said coordinated efforts at the neighborhood or community scale can help, either by partnering with the program or organizing locally. She also encouraged spreading the word, noting that greater public awareness can increase collective efforts to reduce the problem. 

“Our hope is that this increased awareness builds long-term change not just for Bradford pear, but for all invasive plants,” Oten said.

North Carolina’s bounty program comes as efforts to address Bradford pears expand nationwide. Ohio, South Carolina and Pennsylvania have banned the sale and planting of the trees. Other states, including Missouri, Illinois and New Jersey, have also proposed or are in the process of implementing similar restrictions.