For decades the Bradford pear was the go-to street and yard tree across Central Ohio — fast-growing, neatly shaped, and covered in white flowers every spring. Today it is one of the trees we are most often asked to remove in Dublin and the surrounding suburbs. Ohio now classifies the Callery pear (the species that includes Bradford) as an invasive plant, and the tree's own structure makes it a storm liability. Here's what every homeowner should know.
What Is a Callery (Bradford) Pear?
"Bradford" is the best-known variety of Pyrus calleryana, the Callery pear. You'll recognize it by its dense, rounded crown, glossy leaves, brilliant white blossoms in early spring (with a famously unpleasant smell), and good red-purple fall color. It was planted by the thousands in subdivisions, parking lots, and tree lawns because it grows quickly and looks tidy when young.
Why Ohio Banned It
Callery pear was sold as a sterile, well-behaved ornamental — but different varieties cross-pollinate and produce fertile fruit that birds spread far and wide. The escaped seedlings grow into dense, thorny thickets that crowd out native plants along fence lines, roadsides, and open fields. Because of that spread, the Ohio Department of Agriculture added Callery pear to its invasive-plants list, and as of January 1, 2023 it is illegal to sell, grow, or distribute the tree in Ohio. You are not required to remove one already on your property, but the state's clear message is that these trees should be phased out — and replaced with better options.
The Bigger Problem: They Split Apart
Even setting the invasive issue aside, the Bradford pear has a structural flaw that makes it dangerous as it matures. Its limbs grow at narrow, crowded angles from nearly the same point on the trunk, with weak "included bark" unions that can't hold the weight of a full canopy. The result is predictable: once these trees reach 15–20 years old, they tend to split — frequently right down the middle — under wind, ice, or a heavy spring storm. We see it every storm season across Dublin, Powell, and Hilliard. A pear that looks perfectly healthy can drop a major limb (or half the tree) onto a roof, car, or fence with no warning.
Should You Remove Yours?
Removal makes sense in most cases, and the calculus is simpler than with many trees:
- Strongly consider removal if the tree is reaching maturity, has limbs branching low and tight, sits near your house, driveway, or a play area, or has already lost a limb.
- It's urgent if you can already see a split or crack forming at a main union — that tree is on borrowed time.
- Plan ahead even for a younger, sound-looking pear: it's far cheaper and safer to remove and replace it now than to clean up a failure later.
Because the wood is brittle and the canopy is heavy, taking down a mature pear safely is a job for a crew with proper rigging — not a weekend chainsaw project. See our guidance on the signs a tree needs removal and typical tree removal costs in Dublin.
First question: is it actually yours to remove?
Callery pears were planted by the thousands in Central Ohio during the subdivision boom — and a large share of them went into the strip between the sidewalk and the curb, because they were cheap, uniform, and tidy when young. That makes ownership a live question for this species in a way it is not for a maple in the middle of your back lawn.
Dublin defines city-owned trees as those “growing within the public right-of-way,” and notes that most of them sit “in the area of land between the street and the sidewalk.” If your pear is in that strip, it is the city’s tree: you cannot remove it, and you should not be paying anyone to prune it either, because Dublin Forestry maintains its own inventory. Report it instead. Our guide to street trees and tree lawns in Dublin covers how to tell which side of the right-of-way line you are standing on, and what to do when a city tree is the problem.
Permits and replacement trees
For a pear on your own residential lot, the usual answer is that no permit is needed. Dublin requires a removal permit “prior to removal of any protected tree with the exception of trees on privately owned residential property that are not located in no-disturb zones” — and most private residential removals land inside that exception. The Dublin tree removal permit guide walks the full check.
Two situations change it. A pear inside a no-disturb zone needs city approval like any other regulated tree, and the city does not publish a simple list of those zones, so Planning (614.410.4600) is the only way to be sure. And on commercial, HOA, or common-area property — which is where a lot of Dublin’s pears were planted, along entrance drives and parking-lot islands — a permit generally applies, and it brings a replacement obligation measured in caliper inches rather than in trees. Worth knowing before the board approves the removal, not after.
There is a small irony worth pointing out to an HOA: the replacement rule and the invasive listing want the same outcome. Taking out a failing Callery pear and putting native stock back in is exactly the trade the caliper-inch requirement is designed to produce, so the replanting bill buys something you would want anyway. We handle this side of things on commercial and HOA properties regularly.
Timing the removal
Nothing about this species makes the calendar critical the way oak wilt does for pruning oaks in Central Ohio — a Callery pear can come out any month of the year. Two practical notes anyway:
- Get ahead of the weather, not behind it. These trees fail in wind, ice, and heavy spring rain. A pear you already suspect is a scheduled removal today and an emergency call later, and emergency work costs more and gives you fewer options about how the tree comes down.
- Early spring is the easy identification window. If you are not certain what you have, the dense white bloom — and its famously bad smell — settles it quickly. Serviceberry and wild plum also flower white in Central Ohio, but neither has the pear’s tight, upswept branch structure or its glossy summer foliage.
If yours is a borderline case — large, close to the house, but not obviously failing — a formal tree risk assessment is the honest way to decide, and it is the kind of judgment worth getting from someone actually credentialed to make it rather than from whoever knocks on the door after a storm.
What to Plant Instead
The good news: you can get the same spring flowers and fall color from trees that actually belong here. Strong native and non-invasive replacements include serviceberry, eastern redbud, flowering dogwood, and American hornbeam for smaller ornamentals — or a red or sugar maple or swamp white oak if you want a real shade tree. These support local wildlife and won't split themselves apart in a decade.
Dublin Tree Pros can remove an aging or hazardous Callery pear, grind out the stump, and help you choose a better tree for the spot. We will also tell you up front if the pear you are asking about is in the tree lawn and therefore the city’s to deal with, rather than quoting you for a tree that is not yours. Request a free assessment. If a pear has already split in a storm, we also offer emergency tree removal.
Ohio’s invasive-plant listing and the City of Dublin’s tree rules are summarized here for general information, not legal advice, and neither one establishes what applies to your specific lot. Confirm permits, no-disturb zones, and right-of-way boundaries with the City of Dublin before removing any significant tree. Last reviewed against state and city sources: August 2026.