A less stinky spring? Common but foul-smelling trees will not be sold in Kansas soon

Lindsay Smith
·3 min read
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A popular tree in the Wichita area could be the thing that’s stinking up your yard.

Callery pear trees, commonly called Bradford pears, are known for their white blooms. But while they’re pretty to look at, the trees are one of the most invasive species in the area.

“It moved to the invasive side of the list primarily because of its ability to produce a lot of seeds and fruit, which the birds love to eat, and as a result, the birds are very effective at spreading the trees to suburban rural and unmanaged land, where those species pop up and can kind of continue to spread,” said Matthew McKernan, horticultural agent with the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center.

Because of its invasive nature, the tree will be in quarantine in Kansas starting Jan. 1, 2027, which means after that date, the trees cannot be sold or planted within the state of Kansas. This also means Callery pears purchased elsewhere cannot be planted in Kansas.

The quarantine will not require Kansans to remove Bradford pears they already have on their property, but may prevent them from being replaced.

The order also allows the Kansas Department of Agriculture to inspect properties for enforcement purposes, but does not allow inspection of private residences.

Sedgwick County residents do not have an incentive for getting rid of already-planted Callery pear trees, however. Only two counties in Kansas have buy-back programs: Johnson and Shawnee.

There are multiple kinds of Callery pear trees. McKernan said the three most common types in Wichita are probably Bradford pear, Chanticleer pear and Cleveland pear trees.

White flowers are the key characteristic of these types of trees. The trees usually reach 30 to 45 feet in height, and can also have orange and brown spots on the bark. They can also be identified through smell.

“Typically when the tree is in full bloom, it can have more of a sulfury type of smell, it varies a little bit … some smells are more distinguishable than others, it kind of varies from tree to tree,” McKernan said. “Often times they catch your attention by smell as they can catch your attention by sight.”

The smell comes from the tree’s flowers, McKernan said.

What if you have Callery pear trees in your Wichita yard?

While the quarantine will not affect already-planted trees, there are ways to remove Bradford pears from your yard if you’re getting tired of their scent. The catch: you can’t just cut them down.

“If you cut them down, you’re gonna also have to treat them with some sort of stump killer in order to prevent those stumps from coming back,” McKernan said.

The extension recommends using an herbicide with Triclopyr.

“You want to apply that to the cut immediately after the cut is made,” McKernan said. “Typically, the longer you wait, the less effective those applications become.”

The stump killer only needs to be applied to the stump’s outer ring, not the entire cut, in order to reach the roots.

If you’re considering tackling invasives, another common species to look out for in Wichita is the bush honeysuckle plant, a green bush with bright red berries. Much like the Callery pear trees, bush honeysuckle can spread fast and far, leaving little room for native vegetation.

Here’s a list of common invasive species in Kansas, from the state forest service’s website:

  • Garlic mustard

  • Japanese honeysuckle

  • Kudzu vine

  • Tartarian honeysuckle

  • Morrow’s honeysuckle

  • Autumn olive

  • Common buckthorn

  • Japanese barberry

  • Multiflora rose

  • Saltcedar

  • Russian olive

  • Tree of heaven

  • Princess tree

  • Black locust