for 8 years, we've been telling the public about the negative aspects of the Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana), as being one of the 5 worst trees anyone could buy. Now, The Baltimore Sun (August 17, 1997) has documented the story here, and tells something even worse about it: limbs and whole trees falling, causing enormous property damage and injuring people. It's a shame most people wait until a tragedy strikes to act and remove those junk trees. It's always nice to be right. Thousands of these beautiful, but garbage-quality trees are planted all over the region and should be removed en masse everywhere. Bradford Pears are very fast growers, nice flowering in the Spring, but when they reach 13-15 years old, they will fall apart, sooner rather than later. The Bradford's wood is so brittle from growing so fast, a snow or ice storm will collapse the tree and bingo, firewood. The other main problem is the whorl, or where the large branches emanate from is a central point that weakens as the trees grow large, occasionally up to 35-50ft. Remember The Blizzard of '96? So many fell apart that thousands of York County residents are still burning Bradford Pear firewood. Hybridizing this tree was a very big mistake by the Nursery Industry. After being rushed prematurely into production in the 60's without benefit of field trials, it's faults are now being realized and the customer will have to pay again when the tree collapses, just as it begins to really mature and look nice. The so-called "new & improved" Bradford Pear is a sham also. Don't ever buy these trees either. Any garden center or nursery that sells either the Bradford or Improved Bradford Pears is not worthy of your business. They're substandard operations. They know better than to sell a piece of junk, such as the Bradford Pear. Good quality garden centers and nurseries will tell you the truth about such bad plant material; the seedy operations will lie to your face in favor of a quick sale and you'll pay dearly about 13-15 years down the road. Don't be fooled by them: demand quality flowering pears. The Redspire, Aristocrat, Chanticleer and Cleveland Select are good quality, long-lived ornamental pears, worthy of purchasing. If a garden center or nursery directs you to one of these cultivars, they probably can be trusted with your concerns about plant material. If you're online and hooked up to the InterNet, visit our vast and highly-awarded Website at www.gdnctr.com. Read the many ads available online, several of which detail the Bradford Pear as one of "The Five Worst Trees You Can Buy" at gdnctr's ads. There are dozens of our past and present ads online with tons of information that you can use. When shopping for any tree, demand the correct and complete information on mature size and care. Choose wisely and don't let a sub-standard nursery talk you into one of the wrong trees, even if the "price is right". (The only things that should be bought on price alone are paper clips and drywall screws, not trees.) You'll pay the price many times over after the wrong choice is made, if you buy on price alone. And you always get what you pay for. Always. In addition to carrying only Premium Dark Bark Mulch, we feature over 900 varieties of perennials, 200 varieties of annuals and herbs, over 100 varieties of ornamental grasses and bamboos, and more than 1600 cultivars of nursery stock, ranging from the common to the very rare, unusual and hard-to-find. Our Collector's Rare Plant Nursery has been supplying gardening enthusiasts for over seven years, and is a must for connoisseurs and serious collectors. Our Nursery Division can supply any request from the common to very rare and unusual material. And if you need a tree or shrub moved, we feature a special team capable of easily moving anything from 1-inch to 10-inch diameter trees. Call us for a free consultation and estimate. Our Warranty: is unmatched by anyone, anywhere, and is one (1) year from date of purchase if you install the plant material; it is five (5) years if we install the material. Call, write or email us for a complete copy of The Warranty. It's also online right here. Drop by our Website on The InterNet for a tour of the Garden Center & Nursery. It's located at www.gdnctr.com for those digerati among you out there who are connected on-line.