A bloomin’ shame
Today’s beauty is tomorrow’s ecological beast
Staff writer
Callery pear trees, also known as Bradford pear after a popular cultivar, are in full bloom around the county.
But they might not be for long. The state of Kansas is cracking down on the trees.
When they flower, the trees appear as white, puffy fireworks. They emanate a slightly fishy-smelling odor.
They also are invasive.
Hailing from China and Vietnam, Callery pears became popular ornamental trees for backyards and public spaces in the 1990s.
Since then, they have cross-pollinated and created fertile seeds.
The seeds are consumed and disseminated by wildlife birds throughout pastures, woodlands, and other native green spaces, Shad Hufnagel, a forest coordinator for the Kansas Forest Service, said.
Callery trees lack natural controllers and outcompete native prairie plants, leading to damage to the ecosystem.
Some Kansans have developed an understandable hatred toward the trees.
Facebook posts joke that the best way to trim a Callery tree is to take a chainsaw to the trunk.
But it wasn’t until recently that the state took action against them.
Kansas Forest Service last week announced a buyback program beginning spring 2026.
The state will offer a free replacement tree for every Callery cut down.
Those who own the trees are welcome to start chopping now, the forest service said, so long as they send the state a picture of the tree before and after being cut.
In 2024, Kansas Department of Agriculture announced a quarantine on Callery trees beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
After that date, importing or moving the trees will become illegal.
Jana Dalke, owner of Serenity Gardens in Hillsboro, said she had known the quarantine was coming for a while.
“I haven’t bought any in a couple years, knowing that this was coming,” she said. “Last year, they highly recommended we stop.”
Dalke has worked in greenhouses since 1994, and has sold many Callery trees..
“They’ve been popular,” she said. “But we’re just realizing what they do in a rural setting when they’re left to their own devices.”
She recently dug out five Callery trees growing next to her shop.
“They’re heading for the burn pit,” she said.
Dalke still has three Callery trees growing in her own yard. One was not intentionally planted.
“They’re very nice trees in a homeowner-type space, but when they get out where things aren’t being manicured, they get invasive, and that does become a problem,” she said.
Natural Resources Conservation Service manager Matt Meyerhoff said his department noticed the trees spreading into pastures seven years ago.
“We’re finding them out in large pastures, miles away from any homestead,” he said. “They’re spreading pretty good distances.”
Because the trees are considered ornamental rather than agricultural, his department doesn’t have a say in any future legislation.
He did note he was “not a fan” of wild Callery trees.
“They have some pretty large thorns,” he said.
Josh Housman, director of the county’s noxious weed department, said he first received reports about Callery trees popping up three years ago from concerned citizens in Marion County, Oregon, who called him by mistake.
Since then, the plants have started posing more problems in Kansas.
“If you go from Newton to Wichita on I-135, you’ll see them starting to take over drainage ditch areas and pastures and fields,” Housman said. “If they’re out there like that, they need to be taken down.”
Because Callery trees are considered invasive, not noxious, Housman’s department is not taking action now.
“I can’t do anything until they hit the list of what’s considered noxious,” he said. “That goes to the commissioners, whether or not they want to do anything.”
Housman predicted that the county wouldn’t take action unless the state became more outspoken about the trees. Indeed, county clerk Tina Spencer said any decision about the trees “has not been stated as a priority of the board.”
Housman said other trees, such as red cedars, present more problems for his department than Callery trees.
Red cedars are native to the Great Plains but can spread rapidly across grassland and lower local biodiversity.
“It doesn’t take long before they can take over a pasture,” he said.
Marion city administrator Mark McAnarney said last week he had not heard that Callery trees were invasive.
“At different houses I’ve lived in, I’ve bought Bradford pears,” he said. “They weren’t very strong, but they grew quickly.”
On Monday, McAnarney said he had done some research and that the issue would be brought to a city council meeting, “probably two or three meetings from now.”
Hillsboro city administrator Matt Stiles also said his municipality had no formal plan for dealing with the trees.
“We’ve talked about it, but we don’t have anything on the books,” he said.
Stiles said that he was glad the Forest Service was instituting a buyback plan and that Hillsboro might provide its own return service for Callery trees.
“I have allergies,” he said. “Whenever they’re blooming, it kills me.”
If the trees do come down, it may be better for the local ecosystem, but their white puffy blooms will no doubt be missed.
Dalke said cutting the trees down would be “bittersweet.”
“You hate to see all those mature trees being cut down,” she said. “But you don’t want to cause a problem either.”
She recommended a few options for homeowners looking to replace their trees.
If you want a tree that flowers in spring like a Callery, try an eastern redbud (which, despite the name, will give you pink flowers) or a crabapple tree.
If you want a tree that provides a lot of shade, you might try redpointe maples or oak trees.