Q: On your radio show you mentioned a “calorie” tree to which ‘Bradford’ pear is kin. Could you give me the correct spelling of the name of this tree?

A: Callery pear, Pyrus calleryana, is an ornamental pear with wicked thorns. It is the parent from which ‘Bradford’ pear was selected in 1963. A callery pear looks similar to ‘Bradford’ but the thorns distinguish one from the other. Under the right conditions,’Bradford’ pear seeds will germinate. The resulting trees will usually have varying numbers of thorns and less dense foliage.

see Callery Pear