The program started in 2019 and has since expanded to 23 locations where participants can pick up their native trees, including the Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center in Joplin and City Hall in Pineville.
Jon Skinner with the Missouri Department of Conservation is in charge of distribution at both locations. He estimates that around 750 trees have been planted in southwest Missouri and close to 10,000 throughout the state as a result of the program.
The most common cultivar, or variety, of the Callery pear tree is the Bradford pear. It was brought to Missouri decades ago as a landscaping plant. Its seeds are spread by birds who eat the fruit.
“In the last decade, Joplin has boomed in having Callery pear in abandoned fields and road ditches,” Skinner said. “You can find them, pretty much, in lots of places.”
The trees pose a threat to the state’s wildlife and environment because their shade prevents sunlight from reaching native fauna.
“They're reducing food sources for our native insects and our native wildlife, and as those food sources are depleted, the wildlife can no longer use that area effectively,” Skinner said. “They'll have a little bit of pear fruit in the spring, but they're losing out, maybe, on fall seed sources that are no longer available because they've been shaded out or suppressed.”
The Invasive Plant Council’s program aligns with the time that the trees begin to bloom, so they can be identified easily.
“The profuse white blossoms of this highly invasive tree make their alarming spread especially apparent in spring, along roadsides, in fields, parks and on private property,” council chair Carol Davit said in a press release.
However, other trees are beginning to flower as the weather gets warmer, including peach, apple and wild cherry. The Missouri Department of Conservation has information and photos online to help with identifying the Callery pears.
“It’s not just flowers, but the leaves, buds, little spurs and thorns that they get,” Skinner said.
Missourians have until April 16 to register with a picture of one or more cut-down Callery pears and choose the native tree they want. Shrubs will also be available, and according to Skinner, each will provide a benefit to the landscape where they’re planted, so participants just need to evaluate the space they have.
“If you just want a shrub and it’s available to you, that's great because it's going to help birds and small animals,” he said. “Maybe a small ornamental tree if there's one available, and you can have a landscape plant. If you have more space and you want a large shade tree, you can get that as well.”
Blackgum, deciduous holly, elderberry, northern red oak, red maple and swamp white oak will be available in Joplin on April 21, and blackgum, swamp white oak, redbud and pawpaw will be available in Pineville.
Tips for removing Callery pear trees can be found on the Invasive Plant Council’s website.
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