|
Help Stop the Spread of Callery Pear and Get a Free Native Replacement Tree!
If you remove a Callery pear that's over 2" diameter from your landscaping you can choose from one of the four native trees in the slide show to the left and in the table below.
Applications due August 1 for 2023! For more information on these native trees, look them up in the Missouri Botanic Garden's Plant Finder.
|
Callery pear has escaped from city green spaces, residential yards, and business landscaping throughout Monroe County. It spreads easily to neighboring properties, along right-of-way corridors, and into our surrounding forests and fields, negatively impacting our biodiversity and watersheds.
Why should you control Callery pear?
Watch for these signs in City of Bloomington Parks and Monroe County Parks!
Billboard sponsored by MC-IRIS on N. Walnut in April-May
As documented in this April 2021 video by WTIU, reporter Emma Atkinson shows just how much Callery pear we have in Monroe County, and why it's a problem.
Citizens Speak Out on Callery Pear!
Here are a sampling of Letters to the Editor that have appeared in The Herald Times this year:
To the Editor: To the Editor:
This year's Reduce One Invasive Challenge from the county's invasive species organization MC-IRIS targets Bradford pear and its relatives - grouped as Callery pear. Over the last decade, Callery pear trees have become a regular pest in my yard, in properties I help to protect against invasive species, and on the IU campus. It seems to be everywhere. Mature trees provide a ready source of small fruits for birds to eat and then spread seeds. As a result, the species is such a pest that the city has disallowed its use in new developments. I'm looking forward to seeing the source of these problems severely reduced over the next year. The MC-IRIS website (MC-IRIS.org) has more information for those who want to join the fun, including attractive alternatives for planting. Vicky Meretsky, Bloomington |
What can I do about this?
Is this the same thing as Bradford pear?
Callery pear is the parent species of Bradford pear, which is one cultivar of Callery pear. Other cultivars include Cleveland Select, Autumn Blaze, Aristocrat, Red Spire, Chanticleer, and many others. All cultivars of Callery pear are invasive - there are no exceptions. More information on the struggle to ban Callery pear from sale in Indiana can be found here.
How do I identify Callery pear?
Discounts For Callery Pear Removal
Bluestone Tree
bloomington@bluestonetree.com 812-824-3335 https://bluestonetree.com/ Discount offer: 1 tree- 15% discount 2-5 trees- 25% 6-10 trees- 30% 11-30 trees- 35% Over 30 trees- 40% Norman Arborcare Andrew Norman normanarborcare@gmail.com 812-371-2142 https://www.facebook.com/normanarborcare/ Discount offer: We will offer $100.00 off the proposed bid for a removal of a Callery Pear. We also plant trees and shrubs, and would be happy to provide bids to those residents interested in having their 1-2" native replacement tree planted for them. What are the rules regarding planting Callery pear in Monroe County?
In Bloomington: Due to spreading infestations, Callery pear is no longer planted by the City of Bloomington, and it is disallowed in new developments by the City's Unified Development Ordinance. Erin Hatch, Urban Forester with the City of Bloomington, is the best person to contact to remove Callery pear located in sidewalk green strips and other right-of-way areas. These are considered city trees. Erin notes, “If adjacent property owners wish to conduct tree work, such as removal of these trees, at their own cost, they can submit a tree work permit application, found on the webpage for the City's Urban Forest.” If the tree is dead or dying, or poses a safety risk, the city will remove at their cost. Visit this page https://bloomington.in.gov/about/trees
TreeKeeper website is an online inventory of almost all of our street trees and some of our park trees in Bloomington. Visit this page https://bloomington.in.gov/about/trees Outside Bloomington: .Callery pear cannot be used to meet the minimum standards required for site plan approval for landscaping new commercial sites or multi-family developments, or when street trees are required for subdivisions. You can only use species on the approved native plant list. Details can be found in Chapter 830, the Monroe County landscaping ordinance.
|
Ready to control this invasive tree? More details on Callery pear control methods can be found here. |