Anyone here knowledgeable about flowering trees?

[Big_T]

Spent my career and most of my life with mechanical things, an Arborist I am not. We retired to a small house in a new development last summer and have this tree in the front yard that has produced flowers. Wondering what kind of tree it is. I asked the builder/supervisor and got an I dunno answer.

Anyone know what it is? My guess is some kind of flowering cherry tree? I'm in North Carolina near the Virginia border.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I'm leaning toward Bradford Pear. How bad does it smell?

 

[blethenstrom]

I'm leaning toward Bradford Pear. How bad does it smell?

That is what is looks like to me as well.

@Big_T where in NC are you? You mentioned border of NC and VA. I am just 20 min east of Raleigh. Great to meet a fellow North Cackalackian!

 

[DrStrange]

It does look like a Bradford Pear.

In New York, the Bradford Pear is a somewhat common sidewalk tree.
It is known for breaking under heavy snow.

 

[Big_T]

Thanks guys. I had thought Bradford Pear earlier because I know that name, but when I looked at the flowers online it didn't seem to match.

I don't really get any smell from it but I haven't stuck my nose up to it.

@blethenstrom I'm north of Winston Salem near Pilot Mountain.

 

[DrStrange]

Your flower picture was very good.
I found something pretty close.

https://www.dispatch.com/gcdn/presto/2022/03/08/NCOD/43cb0793-749e-40c2-9288-a870823c4d59-Callery_Bloom_Close-Up_-_JB.jpg?width=1200&disable=upscale&format=pjpg&auto=webp

Callery pear is another name for the Bradford.

Pyrus calleryana - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Callery pears are remarkably resistant to disease or fireblight. However, some cultivars, such as 'Bradford', are particularly susceptible to storm damage and are regularly disfigured or killed by strong winds, winter weather, or limb loss due to their naturally rapid growth rate.

 

[Big_T]

Your flower picture was very good.
I found something pretty close.

https://www.dispatch.com/gcdn/presto/2022/03/08/NCOD/43cb0793-749e-40c2-9288-a870823c4d59-Callery_Bloom_Close-Up_-_JB.jpg?width=1200&disable=upscale&format=pjpg&auto=webp

Callery pear is another name for the Bradford.

Pyrus calleryana - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Callery pears are remarkably resistant to disease or fireblight. However, some cultivars, such as 'Bradford', are particularly susceptible to storm damage and are regularly disfigured or killed by strong winds, winter weather, or limb loss due to their naturally rapid growth rate.

Yup, that picture is a perfect match. Thanks

 

[Mojo88]

Yup, that picture is a perfect match. Thanks

It is now illegal to sell, grow, or plant Callery pear (also known as Bradford pear) in Ohio because of its invasive qualities and likelihood to cause economic or environmental harm.

We have them near us and the streets are beautiful when the trees are in bloom. There was a nursery that went out of business and the Bradford pear trees took over. It’s probably 10 acres of white blooms in the spring.

 

[psfred]

Very likely a Bradford Pear. Hugely invasive pest tree, and they are both over-branched and brittle so they tend to split when mature. If it is, it will have very small pear shaped fruit if there are any trees around that cross po llinate with it. On it's own it's supposed to be sterile and not produce fruit, but it appears to be receptive to just about any pollen in the apple/pear family and in most places produces huge amounts of small fruits that birds love. Needless to say, the birds then plant them everywhere.

I'd dig it up and plant a sour cherry tree. No reason not to have a tree with lovely blooms AND delicious fruit!

 

[DrStrange]

Very likely a Bradford Pear. Hugely invasive pest tree, and they are both over-branched and brittle so they tend to split when mature. If it is, it will have very small pear shaped fruit if there are any trees around that cross po llinate with it. On it's own it's supposed to be sterile and not produce fruit, but it appears to be receptive to just about any pollen in the apple/pear family and in most places produces huge amounts of small fruits that birds love. Needless to say, the birds then plant them everywhere.

I'd dig it up and plant a sour cherry tree. No reason not to have a tree with lovely blooms AND delicious fruit!

Most people don't like to eat sour cherries,
but I do!

 

[Rudy Vey]

Bradford Pear. When we bought our house in Michigan it was also in a new sub, and they always use these trees, wonder why. But then I love pears... especially Bartlett to eat.

 

[StillShaving]

Very likely a Bradford Pear. Hugely invasive pest tree, and they are both over-branched and brittle so they tend to split when mature. If it is, it will have very small pear shaped fruit if there are any trees around that cross po llinate with it. On it's own it's supposed to be sterile and not produce fruit, but it appears to be receptive to just about any pollen in the apple/pear family and in most places produces huge amounts of small fruits that birds love. Needless to say, the birds then plant them everywhere.

I'd dig it up and plant a sour cherry tree. No reason not to have a tree with lovely blooms AND delicious fruit!

While this sounds extreme it might be good advice. Most Bradford Pear trees do not last very long. Once they start getting large an ice storm or freezing rain will eventually take them out. As their wood and branching structure is not the best and limbs will break under the weight. Sometimes a full crotch blowout. They are popular because they look nice and are relatively cheap and fast growing. But it would be prudent to think about what species of tree would work in that location for a century or more and make plans to replant.

 

[Tirvine]

While this sounds extreme it might be good advice. Most Bradford Pear trees do not last very long. Once they start getting large an ice storm or freezing rain will eventually take them out. As their wood and branching structure is not the best and limbs will break under the weight. Sometimes a full crotch blowout. They are popular because they look nice and are relatively cheap and fast growing. But it would be prudent to think about what species of tree would work in that location for a century or more and make plans to replant.

This is sage and sound advice. I used to live on Magnolia Avenue in Norfolk. It had been planted with magnolias ages ago as the entrance to someone's home. They obviously thrived. I'd consult a local nursery specializing in native plants and ask for recommendations. I live in Austin, Texas now. Trees like Bradford pears, Arizona ash, and Chinese tallow come and go all around, but my native live oaks and red oaks just get better and better.

 

[DrStrange]

This is sage and sound advice. I used to live on Magnolia Avenue in Norfolk. It had been planted with magnolias ages ago as the entrance to someone's home. They obviously thrived. I'd consult a local nursery specializing in native plants and ask for recommendations. I live in Austin, Texas now. Trees like Bradford pears, Arizona ash, and Chinese tallow come and go all around, but my native live oaks and red oaks just get better and better.

One of my navy comrades was a Texan who was always very happy
whenever his wife sent him something made of pecans
from their pecan trees.

Most people can't plant trees which won't become valuable during the life of the planter.
But I like to plant chestnuts
and various oaks, mostly those from within the white oak family.

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.
The second best time, is now.

 

[Tirvine]

One of my navy comrades was a Texan who was always very happy
whenever his wife sent him something made of pecans
from their pecan trees.

Most people can't plant trees which won't become valuable during the life of the planter.
But I like to plant chestnuts
and various oaks, mostly those from within the white oak family.

I planted a red oak seed about ten years ago. It is now taller than my second story window! My neighbors have pecans. I am too lazy to shell a bunch of pecans, but I still get and eat a lot of them, as well as walnuts. Why can't we get walnut ice cream anymore? It was a favorite.

 

[DrStrange]

Black walnuts are used for ice cream,
the reason being because they can't be extracted whole,
only in pieces.

Yesterday, this girl:

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/20220613_180944b-jpg.1518062/

cracked me a handful of hickory nuts.
By a coincidence of relevance to what we were just discussing,
hickory nuts taste like a cross between pecans and walnuts.
They are delicious, but small and tedious to crack and pick,
so I am always happy when she does that for me.
We are in sugar maple country here in New York
where hickories grow wild and plentiful.

 

[Tirvine]

Black walnuts are used for ice cream,
the reason being because they can't be extracted whole,
only in pieces.

Yesterday, this girl:

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/20220613_180944b-jpg.1518062/

cracked me a handful of hickory nuts.
By a coincidence of relevance to what we were just discussing,
hickory nuts taste like a cross between pecans and walnuts.
They are delicious, but small and tedious to crack and pick,
so I am always happy when she does that for me.
We are in sugar maple country here in New York
where hickories grow wild and plentiful.

Yikes. I just wanted ice cream.

 

[DrStrange]

Yikes. I just wanted ice cream.

My very favorite ice cream by far, is pistachio.

 

[DrStrange]

Anyway, back to the thread topic:

I can heartily recommend a genuine Higan cherry.
I emphasize *genuine* Higan
because it is also known as a weeping cherry
and there is another type of weeping cherry which is a two meter tall cherry stump
with Higan branches grafted to the top.

My parents had one that killed the car that tried to kill it.
https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/dscn1173c-jpg.1277175/

and now it looks great!

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/dscn0467b-jpg.1160868/

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/dscn1121b-jpg.1249677/

 

[StillShaving]

Anyway, back to the thread topic:

I can heartily recommend a genuine Higan cherry.
I emphasize *genuine* Higan
because it is also known as a weeping cherry
and there is another type of weeping cherry which is a two meter tall cherry stump
with Higan branches grafted to the top.

My parents had one that killed the car that tried to kill it.
https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/dscn1173c-jpg.1277175/

and now it looks great!

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/dscn0467b-jpg.1160868/

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/dscn1121b-jpg.1249677/

Do you know how old that tree is (approximately)? Looks to be a great suburban lawn tree, especially if it could be encouraged to grow tall enough that people could walk comfortably underneath its canopy.