It’s been said (by many a hungry tree arborist), “Support your local arborist, plant a bradford pear.” Bradford pears are known for their beautiful flowers in the spring, how quickly they grow, their colorful leaves in the fall, and for splitting and falling over. They are a 'cultivar', which is a sort of hybrid. For all the above reasons except for splitting and falling over, they are desirable as ornamental trees.
Major split off of a bradford pear tree during the spring at high flowering time.
Because of their tendency to split though, they have become notorious around arborist companies for needing frequent attention - whether that's preventative trimming or removing a stem of the tree that has split off. Long story short, from an economic perspective, we don't actually recommend you plant a Bradford pear.
If you do plant on, make sure it isn't too close to your buildings.
But there is another reason why they aren't a great idea to plant - they are actually an invasive specie. Unlike most other cultivars, which make seeds that are naturally sterile, the Bradford pear has seeds that are fertile and are spread all over the place by birds. And they successfully outcompete native trees, which is why they are considered invasive.
