I guess it happened last week, but Ohio is banning certain types of pear trees, including Bradford pear. Due to the fact they're considered invasive. Didn’t know pear trees spread that easily Tree of heaven was banned a few years back.
Good. Bradford pear is a nasty one from Asia that spreads fast from the birds that eat them. I find them more and more in natural areas....
Here in NH the Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) and Tree of Heaven are banned. Norway maples outcompetes our native sugar maples and produce a toxin that discourages other native plants.
Some places including Greensboro NC are offering a bounty for Bradfords. Show a before and after of a cut down Bradford and get a 3gal tree in return. I’m surrounded by neighbors with Bradfords so I battle seedlings every spring. They have a hellacious tap root too, so many just break off and sprout again. Worse than tree of heaven or pawlonia.
We have a ton of tree of heaven around here and on my property. If I could choose, rather have the bradford pear, which I didn't know was invasive. As for BL, I swear that stuff will grow anywhere, in any condition.
I don't have the source to credit, but I did read somewhere that is was initially thought to be a great tree for cities. No fruit so nothing to throw, but after some genetic tinkering the limbs shed in the wind or something making them a hazard. I will try to look for the source and report back.
I had no idea Bradford Pears were considered invasive, until the Missouri Dept of Conservation issued a statement discouraging it. They are nice trees, being early bloomers, the Mason Bees like them. They are brittle trees when they get older. Around here Honey Locust grow like weeds, and the thorns will easily go through tires. If you cut one down you have to use Tordon tree killer, to keep it from sprouting 10 branches from where it was cut...
At least honeylocust is native to a large swath of the country. Bradford pear and its sibling tree ambiguously named Cleveland Select should never have left the Asian continent.
I think NH banned burning bush too. That stuff spreads like crazy especially from bird droppings. Previous owner of my property planted about 10 and I’m constantly mowing down new plants
I’m battling both burning bush and oriental bittersweet in my yard. When I moved in, I found a couple bittersweet vines that were 3-4” diameter wrapped way up high in a tulip poplar. I cut a 20 foot section out of that starting at ground level. Now I’m down to pulling all the young new growth, wherever it pops up.
That was banned quite a few years ago. Some types of barberry were too (NH listing). My property has a burning bush (here when i bought the place). It doesn't seems to care to try to spread. Biggest issue is the invasive rose that I battle every year. It is growing in a very wet area across the drainage ditch and that is my battle line. It is not abnormal for me to cut a limb, pull it out, and have a 15-20' whip come snaking down from the trees. It has spread to my neighbors house across the street (and dry area) and has tried to take over his house. He is elderly and doesn't move well so I mow his property. Last summer I took a couple of hours to tear down vines off his siding, windows and across his front door. He is in and out of the house several times a day, every day, and it had gotten to the point he couldn't open his front door all the way and the stuff was seriously trying to anchor itself across the door jamb. You know the invasive rose is aggressive when the Japanese knotweed, that grows next door, can't compete with the rose. However, the invasive rose and poison ivy are fast friends and readily share areas .
Thanks for posting that link. I've got that on the edge of my yard too I've been cutting it back for a while but didn't know it was invasive. Another invasive plant I have more of than grass in certain spots out back is garlic mustard: Garlic Mustard: Invasive, Destructive, Edible It's easy to overlook because it stays low to the ground, especially after I mow it, but it's quickly spreading everywhere.
Yesterday was a fine day to be outside and with this post fresh in my mind, I took advantage and cleaned up roses from the neighbor's yard: What it looked like to start. Well, that isn't true, I had already cut and removed four canes that had grown up in the center of the lilacs at the corner and were 10-15' long (I was by no means done cutting around those lilacs when I thought to take pictures). Those suckers throw out lots of side branches/vines and pulling them out of trees is an exercise in patience, cutting in just the right spots, and pulling them out at the right angle. The above picture doesn't show how much there truly is because I suck at giving perspectives. You couldn't see the vines that were growing on top of the roof. Here it is after I had cleared all the canes/branches/whips/vines out of the 20' to the center windows to the left of the door (I had cleared out to the door late last summer). It took about 3 hours. All that brown beside the evergreen is the part of that bush that has died back from being totally crushed ans shaded by the roses. That is the southeast corner of the house and it is in full sun until mid afternoon, so those bushes should never be light starved. This looks like a stupid picture - but the vines were so thick here that I had no idea there was a hose reel and spigot here. Previous to the roses taking over, the evergreen bushes to either side had kept them covered. The rose vines got so thick they were killing all the branches to those evergreens too - they should come back now that they can get some light . The mound of stuff I cleared out of there.
