Say Goodbye to Your Callery Pear

Remove Your Invasive Callery Pear and Receive a $25 Coupon to Spend at the Illinois Native Plant Society Central Chapter’s Plant Sale

Bring a “selfie” with one or more cut-down Callery pear trees and claim one of the 40 coupons we will have available at the annual native plant sale in Springfield. Use the $25 to purchase a new native tree from our selection of 40+ species and/or purchase from the large selection of herbaceous plants, grasses and sedges, and ferns. One coupon per household. Cellphone photos are easy to share and can display time and location associated with the photo.

Help stop the spread of the invasive Callery pear trees by removing one or more from your property, or other locations with appropriate authorization. Although their blooms are attractive, the 26 Callery cultivars, including the commonly known Cleveland and Bradford varieties, are wreaking havoc on our native ecosystems. They have become uncontrollably invasive and are seen blooming along roadsides, in woodlands, in pastures, parks, everywhere.

Because the Callery pears leaf out so early and reproduce so rapidly, most native plant species are prevented from growing beneath the Callery varieties. Butterflies, birds, and bees all suffer due to loss of native flora and the Callery pears offer little nourishment to native wildlife.

Similar programs offering bounties for the removal of Callery pear trees are happening nationwide. Join the effort and fill the open space with native flowering trees or shade trees, or plant a pollinator garden. Make your decisions based on the growing conditions of the newly available space in your yard. Our sale offers you an unparalleled selection of native species. Find more general information about the sale here.