Callery pear
Pyrus calleryana Decne.
Also called Bradford pear.
Formerly ubiquitous street tree with early white bloom. Different cultivars cross-pollinate and seed into thorny thickets in fields and woodland edges; listed as a noxious weed in Pennsylvania.
Listed as noxious in PA. The planner flags it (OL-INVASIVE) for sites in those jurisdictions. Details and sources.
Size over time
Typical landscape size 9–12 m (30–39 ft) tall and 7–10 m (23–33 ft) wide; fast growth, about 15 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.45) from the BB-2in install size.
Bloom
White flowers, Mar–Apr (northern-hemisphere months; timing shifts with region and season).
| Plant | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callery pear : Mar–Apr |
Design notes
- Narrow branch angles split in storms after about 15–20 years.
- For early white bloom use serviceberry, fringetree or native plums instead.
- Existing trees: removal and replacement are commonly encouraged.
Regions
Native range: China and Vietnam.
Not recorded as native to any of the three pilot regions.
Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.
Related plants
Plan with Callery pear
Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.