Ten downtown York Bradford pear trees will be removed this week, after being irreparably damaged in October's freak snowstorm. City forester Paul Walters checked all the trees, and found ten that couldn't be patched up with support cables or another form of band-aid.
From "The Pros and Cons of the Bradford Pear"--referring to some of the weaknesses of the Bradford pear, which have only become apparent over time. A combination of plant physiology and physics makes the Bradford very susceptible to wind and ice damage - in fact, it's rare to see an old planting that doesn't have at least one tree missing a substantial chunk of its limbs and trunk.
Walters said more than half the tree was damaged in many cases and others were rotted in the center, making them unstable. The trees will be replaced with another type of flowering pear tree called Cleveland Select, certainly not the Bradford pear tree, which has earned Walters' disdain. The Bradford pear, a native of China and Korea, has earned a reputation for being fragile. Many branches grow from the trunk at the same place, making them susceptible to damage from high winds-- or a heavy weight, like snow hanging on leaves.
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