A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2006 Bradford Pear

Going out to check the male today I noticed that spring has really arrived. Here are the first fruits of my Bradford Pear tree.

oh thorny that is soooo pretty! has it ever produced fruits before for ya? I gotta admit that I'm not a very big fan of pears but they are ok though they are soo pretty though! is it the male that produces the pears or the female?

Actually the Bradford Pear is a hybrid developed as a landscaping tree. It IS a true pear but the fruit it bears in the fall is about the size of a pea and is very bitter due to the tannic acid it contains (I know I've tried eating one, LOL). Birds LOVE the berries, and the dense foliage provides perfect cover for roosting and nest building. In the Winter, Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers come to drill holes in the bark for sap and insects. In a couple of weeks it will be a snowball of gorgeous white blossoms that smell like stale urine, LOL. I'll take some more pictures at its peak.

A landscaping tree that smells like stale urine? I can't figure that one out. At least you know what kind of tree you have.

When I first moved here I waited 4 years for crabapples to eat off of my ornamental crab tree. Sometimes it amazes me how stupid I can be, serves me right for being a natural blonde.

Post a pic of your pretty blooms thornius.

Actually it's more of an ammonia smell. They are not used for their smell, but for their beauty. They are truly beautiful if seen through a gas mask.

I planted a Bartlet pear last year, it is about 5' high. I hope to harvest fruit from it in a few years.

A Bartlet Pear is designed FOR fruit. Not to be confused with the Bradford Pear which was designed for blooms and foliage ONLY.

Here is an update on my Bradford Pear showing the WHOLE tree not just a bud. It still has not reached its peak of blooming yet.

BRADFORD PEAR

wow! that is so pretty thorny!

Yeah i live in alabama and all our bradford pears are blooming wont be long til spring yahoo