If you chop down an invasive Callery (Bradford) Pear tree within the next week, you can get a free native tree in the Callery Pear Buy-Back promotion sponsored by native plant advocates.
The Callery Pear, and its’ cultivar Bradford, is a species native to China and Vietnam. It’s known for its’ stinky white flowers that smell like rotten fish and is frequently damaged in stormy weather. It is invasive, spreads quickly and can force out native trees and plants.
To encourage home and business owners to stop the spread of this invasive tree, the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Invasive Plant Council, Deep Roots, Johnson County Parks and Recreation District and Forest ReLeaf of Missouri have banded together to give away free native trees as replacements.
In Missouri, the program is available in Columbia, Cape Girardeau, Joplin, Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield. In Kansas, it is available to residents in the Kansas City metro area.
Replacement trees are four and five feet tall, planted in three-gallon containers. Varieties include Blackgum, Chinkapin Oak, Ohio Buckeye, Northern Red Oak Saskatoon Serviceberry and River Birch. In Kansas City, MO the available trees are Ohio Buckeye and Northern Red Oak.
Here’s how it works:
- Cut down an invasive Callery (Bradford) pear tree
- Snap a photo of you with your cut tree
- Upload your photo and choose your free tree
- Pick up your new tree at the designated location and date:
Cape Girardeau, MO: 3- 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 26
Cape Girardeau Nature Center, 2289 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO
Columbia, MO: 3- 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 26
Missouri Department of Conservation, 3500 East Gans Road, Columbia, MO
Joplin, MO: 3- 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 26
Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center, 201 Riviera Drive, Joplin, MO
Kansas City, MO: 3- 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 26
Lakeside Nature Center, 4701 E. Gregory, Kansas City, MO
Prairie Village, KS: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday, April 23
Prairie Village Pool Parking Lot, 7711 Delmar St., Prairie Village
St Louis, MO: 3- 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 26
CommuniTree Gardens, 2194 Creve Coeur Mill Road, St. Louis, MO
Springfield, MO: 3- 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 26
MDC Southwest Regional Office, 2630 N. Mayfair Ave., Springfield, MO
Learn more at Callery Pear Buy-Back.