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dpirmann t1_jder0fe wrote

If they smell kinda questionable, probably Bradford pear trees. They are hardy in cities but don't have the best scent when they bloom.

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Animanialmanac t1_jdexvxr wrote

Replying to dpirmann (#2,324,853)

These trees are not hardy, they’re cheap to buy and plant. The Bradford pear trees drop branches anytime it gets windy. I paid an arborist to remove the one on front of my house years ago because it dropped large, ten in diameter branches on my car. I always worried a branch would fall on someone.

We replaced them with redbuds in our backyards, much prettier pinkish red blooms and no dropped branches. I don’t believe the city does a good job with their tree programs.

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PigtownDesign t1_jdeyq0q wrote

Replying to Animanialmanac (#2,325,571)

Most of the Bradfords are 40+ years old and were the city tree of choice at the time. As they age/die, the city’s forestry program is replacing them with a hardier tree. Things change as we understand the issues more clearly and the city’s forestry program is changing with the times.

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Animanialmanac t1_jdf6747 wrote

Replying to NewrytStarcommander (#2,325,648)

The city planted the ones on my street about twenty years ago, not so distant past. It wasn’t developers or flippers. My husband and I, and all my neighbors at the time objected, it was well known even then that Bradford pears were smelly weak trees but the city crews planted them anyway, then refused to care for or prune them. I remember it well, it wasn’t developers or flippers, this was a nice street full of homeowners back then. Eddie Reisinger was a new councilman, he promised to have the trees removed before the smell got too bad then we never heard from the city tree teams again. The tree in front of my house partially fell, raising up the sidewalk and breaking the plumbing lines. That’s when we had it removed.

The city and a non profit did the same thing across Wilkens Avenue last year. People had the street trees removed just like I did and they put smaller native trees in their backyards, then the city crew came through with the non profit and planted more street trees.

In this area the space between the sidewalk and the street is very narrow, twenty inches, maybe a little more. It’s not big enough for healthy tall trees, anything bigger than a small redbud becomes weak and falls on the cars or people, or damages the plumbing lines. I don’t know why the city won’t develop a better program. It’s sad going to neighborhood meetings and hearing the same complaints twenty years later, no improvement, same excuses. The city doesn’t listen to residents.

I’m glad the city isn’t still planting these Bradford pears this year, the ones on my street were definitely planted by the city.

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Dr_EllieSattler t1_jdfg8pk wrote

Replying to Animanialmanac (#2,326,405)

I found a Sun article from 2008 that discusses the Bradford's history in Baltimore.

Former Mayor William Donald Schaefer loved them. He planted many while in office from 1972-1987. He also named the chanticleer pear (a cousin to the Bradford) the official city tree.

The article also states the trees were being replaced as sidewalk and street work is performed but there is "no systematic campaign to rid the city of Bradford pear trees"

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MsBitchhands t1_jdfgcqy wrote

Bradford pears, the worst fucking tree in the universe.

Smells like rotting fish and makes it impossible to breathe for me.

Hate them.

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jackneefus t1_jdfjrcb wrote

Bradford Pear.

I used to live in University Park, which was full of them. As much as people complain, the neighborhood was beautiful in the spring.

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Animanialmanac t1_jdfnwro wrote

Replying to EstablishmentFull797 (#2,327,795)

Yes! I was reading in the article the other user posted. They are invasive, birds and deer spread them.

The wooded area around Maiden Choice run has many Bradford Pear crowding out the other trees, now I know how they got there.

https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/11zy239/what_are_the_trees_with_white_flowers_blooming/jdfg8pk/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

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Scrubsandbones t1_jdfygaq wrote

Bradford pears are a blight. They over produce pollen because they don’t produce fruit (on purpose, to “reduce litter”) so they suck for allergies, they smell like the jizz of someone who’s never eaten a vegetable, and they’re weak and quickly become hazardous.

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yeaughourdt t1_jdg52sy wrote

Replying to Scrubsandbones (#2,329,378)

That fruitlessness was supposed to make them sterile but, as Jeff Goldblum would say, life will find a way. Now you'll find Bradford Pears in a lot of our forests competing with native trees and spreading year after year.

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phmsanctified t1_jdggqcl wrote

Ugh. Goddamn jizz trees spraying their goddamn smelly jizz smell all over the place. Assholes!

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nico_de_galloo t1_jdhei46 wrote

Bunch of promiscuous people in this city - I like it

Everyone knows that smell - baby!

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Just4Things t1_jdhkuye wrote

Ohio literally made it illegal to sell, grow, or plant this tree due to its invasiveness and how much they suck.

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EstablishmentFull797 t1_jdi1kyw wrote

Replying to Cheomesh (#2,333,341)

Nah not really. The trees that they hybridized from were invasive too.

That’s like how there’s places in North America where there are wild pigs that are hybrids of feral domestic swine and Russian boars. Still invasive, just with local flair.

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Animanialmanac t1_jditas2 wrote

Replying to woodspaths (#2,338,639)

I wonder if there are too many vacancies in the arborist department, maybe no one works there anymore. A tree fell on my street last year, we reported it as leaning, in need of pruning back in 2020. It’s been lying on the ground for at least eight months since it fell in the storm. I called 311, my neighbors called 311. One young man cut the larger part of the trunk so it doesn’t block the road but the base still sits on the sidewalk and grassy area where it fell.

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fdr78 t1_jdjadwy wrote

Lol, I always called them wild cum trees. They were all over my college downtown.

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Obasan123 t1_jdkngnm wrote

Bradford Pears. They were planted about 30 years ago in an excess of zeal and have proven to be a real disappointment. The smell is the least of their problems. They are fragile and fall apart, and they tend to crowd out and do away with native local species.

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Sad-Progress-4689 t1_jdl2cft wrote

I love these trees. It makes me so happy to see these beautiful flowers! It’s like magic! Spring is here!

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