The curse of the Bradford Pear: Column

[Warpy]

4. I haven't seen (or smelled) them here in the high desert

Yes, they stink when they're blooming, sort of like a bad fish market that tries to disguise the rotten smell with bleach.

A better small, white ornamental would have been the medlar, something that yields butt ugly fruit which is hard and inedible at harvest but which turns ambrosial once it rots, sort of like a slightly gritty apple butter with a delicate alcoholic overtone. They're just starting to be grown here in the US.

The worst invaders here are salt cedar and Russian olive, both of which suck up precious water down near the river. Fortunately, they've discovered that goats do a good job of getting rid of them, preferring them to native species.

That's what I suggest for Bradford pear infestations. Find something that'll eat them, beavers and goats come to mind.