Numerous callery pear trees growing along a roadside.

Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana, often called Bradford pear) spreading invasively along a roadside.
Photo: Britt Slattery, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bugwood.org

Updated: January 21, 2026

Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) is an ornamental species of pear tree native to Eastern Asia. Introduced to the U.S. in 1908, it was later cultivated as a decorative flowering tree (not grown for fruit production like Asian pear, Pyrus pyrifolia).

Several cultivars exist, including 'Bradford' (the first named selection, developed in Maryland), 'Chanticleer,' and 'Cleveland Select.' As gardeners became familiar with the 'Bradford' variety name while the trees were widely planted, "Bradford pear" has since become synonymous with "callery pear" as a common name for the species.

Physical features of callery pear

Callery pear is a medium-sized deciduous tree (sheds its leaves in autumn). It is often one of the first trees to bloom in Maryland. Leaves turn a range of colors in autumn, typically burgundy-red or orange. The stems are thorny, and uncultivated trees may have multiple trunks.

From a distance, flowering callery pears might be confused for native spring-blooming, white-flowered small trees like serviceberry (Amelanchier) and dogwood (Cornus florida). There are enough differences between these species to tell them apart, and callery pear will finish flowering before dogwood blooms open.

Growth rate and habit: rapid, with dense branching; branch connections to the trunk can have narrow angles that predispose the wood to storm breakage; canopy shape is usually taller than wide

Typical mature size: 30 to 50 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide

Blooms: 5-petaled flowers arranged in clusters; malodorous; emerge in early spring

Leaves: simple (not lobed) with small rounded teeth along the margins; oval to heart-shaped; alternate arrangement on the stems; glossy and leathery-textured

Fruit: in clusters with long stalks; hard/firm; greenish- or golden-brown

Bark: gray-brown with shallow furrows (on mature trees); smooth-textured and reddish-brown on young stems

Prominent, pointed, fuzzy flower buds in winter on callery pear twigs.
Flower buds in winter, with a fuzzy texture and pointed shape.
Photo: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org
Clusters of small, stalked, round, bronze-colored fruits on leafy twigs.
Long-stalked, round, bronze-colored fruits in clusters on the twigs.
Photo: Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
Cluster of white five-petaled flowers on a twig with leaves just beginning to emerge.
Cluster of white flowers in early spring. Blooms open before leaves fully emerge.
Photo: Dan Tenaglia, Missouriplants.com, Bugwood.org
Medley of red- and orange-toned callery pear leaves in autumn.
Red- and orange-toned autumn leaf colors on a callery pear.
Photo: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org
Sharp, tapering thorn at the end of a branch spur on callery pear.
Sharp, tapering thorn at the end of a branch spur on a callery pear twig.
Photo: Kathy Smith, Ohio State University Extension, Bugwood.org
Shallow vertical furrows of bark on a mature callery pear trunk. Patches of gray-green lichen happen to be present.
Shallow bark furrows on a mature trunk. Gray-green lichen also happens to be present.
Photo: Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
Two blooming callery pear trees with an even, upright-oval canopy shape.
Cultivated callery pear usually has an even canopy shape and an upright-oval growth habit.
Photo: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org
Mature callery pear tree completely split by storm damage into three sections.
Significant to catastrophic storm breakage is common for callery pear's inherently weak branch attachment.
Photo: Rebekah D. Wallace, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Environmental impacts of callery pear

Callery pear is an invasive species and spreads into natural areas by seed. Wild animals (primarily birds) eat the fruits and disperse the seeds as they travel. Colonies of this tree form dense, thorny thickets in natural areas like fields and meadows.

Like other invasive plants, callery pear can be quick to colonize and overwhelm disturbed habitat (whether from human or natural disturbance) where it outcompetes and prevents the growth of native plants.

Conditions that favor growth

Callery pear is adaptable and grows in a wide range of soil conditions. It prefers full sun but tolerates partial shade. This tree is very common along highways and roadsides, on the edges of disturbed woodlands, and in old fields.

Alternatives to callery pear

Do not plant callery pear, and replace existing specimens when possible. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) regulates the sale of invasive plants, and callery pear is a prohibited species under Maryland law. Refer to the MDA's Invasive Plants Prevention and Control resource page for more information and a list of all other regulated species.

Several native trees with white spring flowers can be grown instead of callery pear. Candidates include Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), serviceberry (Amelanchier, several species), green hawthorn (Crataegus viridis), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), and white-flowered varieties of Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis).

Invasive Plants to Avoid Buying for your Yard and Garden in Maryland

Removing callery pear

Additional resources

Callery Pear | U.S.D.A. National Invasive Species Information Center

Bradford Pear | Maryland Biodiversity Project (images and state distribution map)

Callery Pear: Bradford Pear, Other Varieties, and Their Invasive Offspring | NC State Extension

Compiled by Christa Carignan, reviewed by Debra Ricigliano, University of Maryland Extension, April 2018.

Revised by Miri Talabac, Lead Horticulture Coordinator, Jan. 2026.

Still have a question? Contact us at Ask Extension.

References

Kaufman, Sylvan Ramsey & Wallace Kaufman. 2007. Invasive Plants: Guide to Identification and the Impacts and Control of Common North American Species

Swearingen J., K. Reshetiloff, B. Slattery, and S. Zwicker. 2002. Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas. National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington, DC.