A tree that has been on a list of popular landscape plantings has now almost made it to another list which isn’t so popular… The Callery Pear, which is commonly sold under the name Bradford Pear, is now being considered for addition to Pennsylvania’s noxious weed list. It’s not alone either. Japanese barberry, Japanese stiltgrass and garlic mustard also are proposed for listing as Class B noxious weeds on the agenda for the July 15 teleconference meeting of the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The Noxious Weeds Program considers Class A noxious weeds as high priority for preventing new infestations and eradicating existing infestations. Already on the list are things like giant hogweed, goatsrue, kudzu, waterhemp, hydrilla, European water chestnut, and yellow floating heart…. just to name a few. Native to Asia, the Callery pear was originally introduced to the U.S. in the early 1900s as rootstock for domesticated pears. Beginning in the 1960s, it was widely planted as a street and ornamental landscaping tree. Once established Callery pear forms dense thickets that push out other plants including native species that can’t tolerate the deep shade or compete with the pear for water, soil and space. A single tree can spread rapidly. Pennsylvania is at the northernmost edge of its invasion. It is well established throughout the South and Midwest.