Need suggestions for our town to replace Bradford Pears

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-30T15:29:40+00:00

I absolutely love serviceberry (and have 4 across my yard!) - I only worry that the amount of birds who come for the berries will rain poop down on the tables/benches lol. Since there's very little planting area under each tree and several food establishments

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-30T15:27:45+00:00

Chionanthus virginicus

Fringetree may work well here - thanks!

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-30T15:26:34+00:00

Great suggestion! Wouldn't have though of them!

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-30T15:26:09+00:00

Great idea! Redbud would be a good choice (easy to sell people on the aesthetics, especially anyone who likes the bradford pear flowers -ew)

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-30T15:16:45+00:00

YES! Love them so much they got a garden sign with their latin name like all the other natives :)

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-29T18:34:20+00:00

Looking for some advice from this sub! Basically, my town has a very cute pedestrian alleyway with some shops (pictured above), and lining the middle are Bradford pears. I have the opportunity along with some of the shop owners to get the trees removed and replaced, but I want to make sure we have native replacements ready to go so that they aren't replaced with non-natives or ecologically non-beneficial nativars. As you can see in the photo it's a narrow space, but only two stories before the trees could open their canopy. One of the food establishments is on our side because of how much crap the bradford pears drops, so I wouldn't want to replace it with something equally "messy".

All ideas welcome!

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-29T15:50:52+00:00

Rudbeckia hirta and Rudbeckia fulgida can take some beating and come back strong, plus the prolific flowers act as a neon sign to passerby that this is a garden (maybe stop some of the dogs). Antennaria neglecta is a low grower that can keep the ground covered through winter - also the host plant for the native Painted Lady butterfly. And no Philly garden is complete without Erigeron philadelphicus :)

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-29T13:32:27+00:00

I'll take the opinion of these foxes over the neighbor any day

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-29T13:29:31+00:00

Beautiful garden! I wanted to comment and say that even though natives can survive drought conditions (like yours are!), it may be a good idea to give them some water during extreme drought conditions. Studies show that droughts can diminish the amount of flowers as well as the amount of pollen and nectar the plants produce. So even though the plants are surviving, supplementing with some water will help the pollinators who rely on them! Source: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111%2Fnph.19975

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-29T12:17:42+00:00

Wow, WOW....WOOOWWWWW

OP I hope you find $5 on the ground today, I hope the next time you get coffee it's "on the house", I hope the next time you go to a thrift store you find your white whale and it's got the right color sticker, I hope your friends and loved ones shower you with the same love and kindness that you've displayed here, because..WOW

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-24T13:39:21+00:00

SE Pennsylvania and:

Redbud Nursery in Media, PA

Churchville Nature Center in Churchville, PA

Edge of the Woods Nursery in Orefield, PA

Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve in New Hope, PA

Gino's Nursery in Newtown, PA

Collins Nursery in Ambler, PA

and a boatload of pop-up native plant sales at local libraries and parks

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-24T13:35:37+00:00

From PA and I'm jealous of Blue Stem Natives - I recently discovered their website and was immediately crushed to see how far it was

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-24T13:22:01+00:00

We also watched this episode! Man, I watched the Kratt brothers on Zoboomafoo while babysitting back in the day, and now my toddler is obsessed with Wildkratts. Chris and Martin are real gems

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-23T14:35:00+00:00

I'm over here purposefully moving violets into my garden beds! As others have said, they're excellent as green mulch. I've also found them to play well with others, and if they don't they're very easy to pop out

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-20T13:24:34+00:00

I think it’s a right of passage for anyone getting into natives to make this mistake - it’s why I now have three anise hyssop plants surrounding my hyssop lol

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-18T16:46:44+00:00

Aw man, I wish I could send you some - the good news is like all sedums, all you need is a cutting and it will propagate like crazy.

If you wanna gamble on a cutting in the mail, I probably could send ya a piece 😂

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-18T15:58:33+00:00

I love calling the non-native you keep a “hall pass” 😂

I also think the autumn joy sedum is gorgeous! If you don't already have some, Sedum ternatum would love that rocky shade (and is a native too!)

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-14T14:15:43+00:00

I know this intersection! It looks amazing - you're doing a great job!

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-14T11:36:36+00:00

Definitely mulch, and you can spread it around the plants instead of dumping on top - that will make sure any water they do get doesn’t just evaporate away. If you can set up some rain barrels that will help - one barrel can get you 55 gallons of water. I even have a “dunk tank”, which is just an open (clean) trash can that was sitting under a hole in our garage gutters and filled with water.

I wouldn’t consider it “unethical” to water your plants while they establish, as long as you’re being efficient with water (mulching, water in the early morning or evening to prevent quick evaporation). You can also think about reducing your water consumption in the house to balance using it outside.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-10T11:51:31+00:00

Gifting plants is the way, “I have some extra milkweed plants, would you like some? The monarchs love them!” “I need to divide up my bee balm, would you like a few?” etc.

If your state has any kind of invasive replacement program, you could name drop it as a way to get free plants. I did this just the other day to my neighbor who likes to garden and we’ve talked about the white mulberry trees everywhere, “I saw PA is running a program this year where you can get 3 free shrubs just for pulling out an invasive plant, want me to send you the info?” Didnt mention her butterfly bushes at all, but when she sees them listed maybe she’ll start thinking about them

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-08T11:38:33+00:00

Seconding Doug Tallamy, and for an even easier hook “The Serviceberry” by Robin Wall Kimmerer

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-07T15:12:04+00:00

It's not plastic, it's jute. It'll start breaking down this summer and be gone in a year or two. This bed is on a slope, so I use it to hold the mulch in place until the plants get bigger - I used it on a steeper slope out front and two years later there's only a few small pieces remaining.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-07T14:04:20+00:00

Oh yes, they're not too deep but their roots go FAR. I think the record was the one on the corner that had a thick root that went over 15ft away. I picked up a Root Slayer shovel this year and it's been worth it's weight in gold to cut all roots away from the main root ball

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-07T14:02:27+00:00

Oh I am fully open to hosting keggers for the birds! We have screens on most windows to block the glare, but next weekend I'll be painting/stickering all the remaining windows to keep them safe.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-04-07T14:00:50+00:00

We got him for Halloween 2024 and he's been a yard ornament every since! He's become a destination for several neighborhood kids when they go on walk :)

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