Beauty And A Beast

With Spring almost here the Bradford Pear Trees are out in full bloom and beautiful.  You can spot them from far away because of their beautiful white blossoms.  They are very stunning especially when they are planted side by side in a row up a driveway for example.  As soon as you see the white trees you know they are Bradford Pear Trees.  Although they are beautiful they are also a beast.  They originally came from China in 1964 by the Department of Agriculture and used as ornamental trees.  They were thought to be sterile but found out they were not.  The problems with Bradford Pear trees is that they have weak branches that can break and fall off, they choke out the natural trees and they smell bad.  If not controlled they will take over and kill all the other trees.  The good thing is they only last 20 to 25 years but during that time they can cause damage. There is even a certain procedure to follow in cutting them down and destroying them. They are Beauty and a Beast!