Bradford Pear Removal in Frankfort, KY

Bradford pear was planted across Kentucky subdivisions for decades because it grows fast, flowers early, and looks tidy. Then it reaches about fifteen to twenty years old and splits down the middle in a storm. If you have one, this page is the honest version of what to do about it.

Why they split

The failure is structural and built into how the tree grows. Bradford pear forms many branches at nearly the same point on the trunk, at narrow angles, with bark trapped in the unions instead of wood fusing properly. Every one of those joints is weak.

Add a fast growth rate and brittle wood, and you get a tree that carries a large canopy on connections that were never strong. Ice and wind find them.

The other problem: they are not sterile

Bradford pear was sold as a sterile ornamental. In practice, different callery pear cultivars cross-pollinate, and the resulting seedlings are viable, thorny, and aggressive. They have escaped into fencerows, roadsides, and old fields across Kentucky.

Several states have moved to restrict the sale of callery pear for exactly this reason. If you have watched thorny scrub pear take over a fencerow near a subdivision, that is where it came from.

Your realistic options

• Remove and replace. The clean answer, especially on a mature tree over a drive, roof, or play area.
• Cable a younger one you value. Reduces the odds of failure; does not remove the underlying habit. Worth it sometimes, and we will be candid about the odds.
• Reduction pruning. Lowering the sail area buys time on a tree that is not yet failing.
• Do nothing, if nothing is under it. A Bradford pear in the middle of a lawn that can split without hitting anything is a low-stakes tree.

What to plant instead

If you want the spring flower, serviceberry, redbud, and native crabapple all deliver it with far better structure. If you want the shade the pear was never really giving you, oak, sugar maple, hackberry, or Kentucky coffeetree are all well suited to Central Kentucky.

See common Central Kentucky trees for how the species compare.

Common questions

For region-specific guidance, the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Service publishes local horticulture and home-maintenance resources for property owners here.

My Bradford pear has not split. Do I need to remove it?

Not automatically. It depends on its size, its structure, and what is underneath it. A mature one over a driveway or roof is a genuine candidate; one in open lawn is a much lower-stakes decision.

Can cabling save it?

It can reduce the likelihood of a specific union failing, and it does not change the tree’s overall habit. On a younger tree you value it can be worth it — we will tell you honestly what the odds look like.

Is removal expensive?

Usually less than an equivalent-size oak or maple, because the wood is light and the canopy sections easily. Access and what is underneath still drive the number.

Why do I see thorny pear trees in fencerows now?

Cross-pollinated callery pear seedlings, which are viable and aggressive despite the parent trees being sold as sterile. They spread readily from landscape plantings.

Related: tree removal · cabling and bracing · what to plant instead. Back to Frankfort Tree Pros.

Frankfort Tree Pros · Serving Frankfort, Georgetown, Versailles, Lawrenceburg & Franklin County, KY · Call or text (859) 310-1209

Last updated August 2026