Beech Tree News Network

About five years ago, I went with a friend to Dayton, Ohio.  It was early in the spring, and I noticed countless white-blossomed trees on the surrounding hillsides in the forests growing there.  I remember being puzzled, because the only thing I knew that was in full bloom at that time was the Bradford Pear, an ornamental tree that I thought had to be purposely set out.  I have two in my front yard and one at my business.  They were all set out.

                A couple of years ago, I noticed another Bradford Pear growing wild in the woods near the one we had set out at our business.  The only difference was the wild one had thorns.  This spring, there were two more.  “How are they reproducing?” I asked myself.  I had always heard they were sterile.

                On Saturday evening, Garey and I went to Tommy Hines’ place in Woodbury for our monthly meal group.  I made a comment to David Martin about the trees, and he told me the tree that had started out as an ornamental variety had morphed into an invasive species.

                I decided it was time to do some research.  The information I gathered was eye-opening.  It goes as far back as 2013, and is from the following sources: Greenvillenewsonline.com; mdc.mo.gov; wellnessmama.com; nytimes.com; and southernliving.com.   

                The columns from these websites had titles like, The Ups and Downs of the Bradford Pear; The Curse of the Bradford Pear; and The Bizarre Reason to Cut Down Your Bradford Pear.  The writers explain that the Bradford Pear originated in China and was introduced to our country in 1964 by our Department of Agriculture.  It was meant to be an ornamental tree, and it was supposed to be sterile—it isn’t. 

                As I would soon learn, while observing the offspring of my own Bradford Pear Trees, these trees don’t pollinate among themselves, but they do pollinate—with anything else in the vicinity.  Because they have the ability to cross-pollinate, they have proliferated into our surrounding forests. 

                If they were just pretty little white trees like our native Dogwoods, that wouldn’t be a problem.  They aren’t just pretty little white trees, however.  The progeny trees have reverted back to the ancient Chinese Callery Pears, “which form impenetrable thorny thickets that choke the life out of pines, dogwoods, maples, redbuds, oaks, hickories, etc.”  In some areas, the trees have become so thick and thorn-laced that removal has to be done by equipment with metal tracks.  Rubber tires are no match for the thorns.

                Remember Kudzu?  There isn’t much in this area of Kentucky, but if you want to feast your eyes on an invasive plant, take a trip down to my husband’s home town in Corner, Alabama.  In the spring, the Kudzu vine starts creeping its way up trees and power lines, over fences, around pond banks and out into road ways.  Kudzu has proven harder to be rid of than the fire ants that also populate the area.  It smothers out everything it comes into contact with.  Kudzu (native to Japan) was introduced in the 1930s in order to fight soil erosion caused during the Dust Bowl era.

                The Mimosa tree (originally from China) is another invasive species the South has had to deal with.  My Aunt Dorothy had one in her yard when I was a kid.  I thought it was one of the most beautiful trees I’d ever seen.  When Garey and I first married, I told him I wanted to plant one in our front yard.  Little did I know those would be “fightin words” for him.  The farmers in the Corner area have finally gotten the upper hand, but that little tree spread through the area like wildfire when it was first introduced.

                You know, after all these years of introducing plants and trees from Asia that evolve into invasive species, you’d think we’d learn to be satisfied with those that are indigenous to our area.  I have just about reached the place that my friend, Tommy Hines has.  Every species of plant life in his yard predates 1860.  I think that will be my new focus—after I sharpen the chainsaw and go to work on the invaders.