Hi,
Have been searching for Bradford Pear and Golden raintree (Chinese
flame) trees in the triangle area. Found a couple of sources with
Cleveland pears, but none that have Bradford pear.
I understand that the raintree is very hard to grow and somewhat rare.

Anyone know of good nurseries where I can find either of these plants?
or good nurseries online?


TIA
Abhi

I thought I saw Bradford Pear trees sell for between 14.99 and 24.99
at Lowes/HomeDepot in the Garner area (401S/Mechanical Rd/70E area).
This was last month or so, have you looks at those places ?
Also, the Family(?) nursery at the Raleigh Farmer Market might have
it...


Abhi wrote:
Hi,
Have been searching for Bradford Pear and Golden raintree (Chinese
flame) trees in the triangle area. Found a couple of sources with
Cleveland pears, but none that have Bradford pear.
I understand that the raintree is very hard to grow and somewhat rare.

Anyone know of good nurseries where I can find either of these plants?
or good nurseries online?


TIA
Abhi

Abhi wrote:

Hi,
Have been searching for Bradford Pear and Golden raintree (Chinese
flame) trees in the triangle area. Found a couple of sources with
Cleveland pears, but none that have Bradford pear.
I really dislike Bradford pears. Do yourself a favor and find a
different tree. I like the way they look. Here are my reasons for
disliking them:
1) Way too many of them. They're like kudzu, you see them all over.
2) They look great for 5-10 years, and along comes an ice storm or a big
wind, and down come a couple branchs.
3) See #1

I understand that the raintree is very hard to grow and somewhat rare.
If you can't find one in stock, check with Fairview Nursery. They'll
order just about anything you can think of. I got one there, about 15
years ago. I had no problems with it.

Keep in mind the Bradford pears have great early spring flowers, but
they are short-lived and also very prone to storm damage. Many of the
Bradfords in our neighborhood are long gone from thunderstorms and ice
storms of the last few years FYI

(Abhi) wrote in message . com...
Hi,
Have been searching for Bradford Pear and Golden raintree (Chinese
flame) trees in the triangle area. Found a couple of sources with
Cleveland pears, but none that have Bradford pear.
I understand that the raintree is very hard to grow and somewhat rare.

Anyone know of good nurseries where I can find either of these plants?
or good nurseries online?


TIA
Abhi

The seeds from bradford pears are spread by birds and produce very hardy,
thorny, non-native pest trees that take root virtually anywhere, crowding
out native species and creating problems for anyone who owns and maintanes
property. Planting a Bradford pear is a most irresponsible act. They are an
even bigger horticultural scam tree than the silver maple or the mimosa.
Friends don't let Friends plant Bradford Pears!

Jack Anderson wrote:
The seeds from bradford pears are spread by birds and produce very hardy,
thorny, non-native pest trees that take root virtually anywhere, crowding
out native species and creating problems for anyone who owns and maintanes
property. Planting a Bradford pear is a most irresponsible act. They are an
even bigger horticultural scam tree than the silver maple or the mimosa.

Interesting - what's wrong with a silver maple? My Grandmother has
two huge ones that are now about 90 years old, planted by my
grandfather and his father when he was about 5 years old. Those two
trees are some of my favorite old giants, especially with the family
connection. She recently had them "groomed" by an arborist who
cleaned out a lot of the deadwood and hopefully they'll go on for
awhile yet.




--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say
bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news.
------------------------X-------------------------------
Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts.

Silver Maples can be nice trees if planted far away from power lines and
septic systems. Unfortunately most residential areas and developments are
not designed with enough space to accommodate their large size and invasive
root systems which is why I consider Silver Maples to be a horticultural
scam.

With no regard to the problems they cause, less scrupulous developers often
plant Silver Maples instead of slower growing trees with lower maintenance
costs because they create shade quickly. When Silver Maples become large
enough to be a threat to power lines they must be "groomed" (which is a
euphemism for top cutting). "Grooming" is costly to the utility companies
and passed on ultimately to the consumer in the form of higher utility
rates. In addition to creating an unnatural looking tree, top cutting Silver
Maples results in "sucker branches" which are much more likely to cause
property damage by breaking during high winds.

The invasive root systems of Silver Maples grow into sewer pipes, causing
backups and expensive repairs.

I don't think the wood from a Silver Maple is of much value for either
building or cabinetry. If your grandfathers had planted a Red Oak or a Black
Walnut 90 years ago there would be more than sentimental value in the
unfortunate event that the trees should have to be cut down.

With all due respect, I can understand why you love the trees your ancestors
planted; however, Silver Maples simply are not suited for most situations.

"Brent Harsh" wrote in message
om...
Jack Anderson wrote:
The seeds from bradford pears are spread by birds and produce very
hardy,
thorny, non-native pest trees that take root virtually anywhere,
crowding
out native species and creating problems for anyone who owns and
maintanes
property. Planting a Bradford pear is a most irresponsible act. They are
an
even bigger horticultural scam tree than the silver maple or the mimosa.

Interesting - what's wrong with a silver maple? My Grandmother has
two huge ones that are now about 90 years old, planted by my
grandfather and his father when he was about 5 years old. Those two
trees are some of my favorite old giants, especially with the family
connection. She recently had them "groomed" by an arborist who
cleaned out a lot of the deadwood and hopefully they'll go on for
awhile yet.




--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say
bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news.
------------------------X-------------------------------
Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts.

With all due respect, I can understand why you love the trees your ancestors
planted; however, Silver Maples simply are not suited for most situations.

Ah, I see your point now - if one were sold to be planted in the
typical city-like residential site, you're surely right. I also think
that the useful life of the two trees I mentioned is approaching
(right about at 90 years) and I know the wood is not too good anymore.
Makes sense, although I wouldn't call it a scam tree as long as
people knew what they were getting.

I really was thinking in comparison with the Bradford Pear that the
original poster was thinking about - driving near Harrison's Bar after
the ice storm a few years ago was enough evidence for me to never want
one of *them* - this nude tree with all the branches lying in a circle
around the trunk!

--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say
bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news.
------------------------X-------------------------------
Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts.

Thanks for all your responses. From the overwhelming opinion against
Bradford pears, we have decided against planting them (well, the
nurseries don't have them anyways ;-)

Cleveland Pears are our current favorite. A local nursery (in Apex)
quoted about $230 for a 15 feet tree. That sounds a bit on the higher
end. Any opinions?

Hi Abhi

I start my tree's from seedlings. It takes a little longer, but well worth
the wait.
I purchase them from the National Arbor Day Society.
For a 10 dollar membership you can get 10 free tree's and a deep discount on
any others you are interested in and the bonus is it all goes for a good
cause.
I received my 10 free tree's a couple of months ago and they are already
getting baby foliage.
http://www.arborday.org/

Jo




"Abhi" wrote in message
om...
: Thanks for all your responses. From the overwhelming opinion against
: Bradford pears, we have decided against planting them (well, the
: nurseries don't have them anyways ;-)
:
: Cleveland Pears are our current favorite. A local nursery (in Apex)
: quoted about $230 for a 15 feet tree. That sounds a bit on the higher
: end. Any opinions?

I have not bought any trees over 6 feet or so, but I think you have to
factor in the *labor* involved in planting a tree of that size (assuming
that you are going to have it delivered, rather than trying to deal with it
yourself).

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh


"Abhi" wrote in message
om...
Thanks for all your responses. From the overwhelming opinion against
Bradford pears, we have decided against planting them (well, the
nurseries don't have them anyways ;-)

Cleveland Pears are our current favorite. A local nursery (in Apex)
quoted about $230 for a 15 feet tree. That sounds a bit on the higher
end. Any opinions?

On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 20:25:42 GMT, Jo wrote:
Hi Abhi

I start my tree's from seedlings. It takes a little longer, but well worth
the wait.
I purchase them from the National Arbor Day Society.
For a 10 dollar membership you can get 10 free tree's and a deep discount on
any others you are interested in and the bonus is it all goes for a good

I've always had great luck with starting oaks from acorns.
I start them over the winter and plant them in the spring. They do
not seem slow-growing when planted in this way. I have some two-years
old live oaks that are already five feet high.

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