Bradford pear disease

[dstimber]

Cleaning up some very neglected Bradford pear trees. They have been victim of phototropism and a very bad hack job before. Anyway I came across these purple deflated grape looking stuff in the tops. I can?t seem to find anything that resembles it

Any ideas what it is?

 

[Burnham]

Whatever it is, if you're lucky, it'll kill them soon .

 

[SeanKroll]

You could have some good cable-and-brace work there.

I put some brace rods and did some pruning in some several years ago, where they had 30 lining one side of the driveway. They used to lose one periodically. Since some 1/4" all-thread from the hardware store in the worst crotches, no more splitting.

 

[frans]

You cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear....

 

[flushcut]

Whatever it is, if you're lucky, it'll kill them soon .

 

[stig]

Looks like a subspecies of Auricularia auricula-judae, known as the Jew's ear.

Rather, that is what I'd think if I saw it here, don't know if you've even got that species in your end of the world.

 

[No_Bivy]

Whatever it is, if you're lucky, it'll kill them soon .

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! kill em' all...llet the chipper sort it out

 

[dstimber]

Lol I agree with all of you guys.... I can?t stand the things either. Nothing but a pain.
I?ll d the fungus doesn?t kill them I think the neighbor will.

 

[Benjo75]

I've seen that before but not sure what it is. Bradford Pear and Hackberry keeps my business running. I wouldn't have either one on my property but I can always count on a small storm to take out a few. The homeowners always seem so surprised that their trees broke apart.

 

[ruel]

Pollard those bastards and see what happens! Removal in stages

 

[Tree09]

It's just a reminder to stop at the store for raisins for the kids on the way home. You usually notice it as it's going through the chipper

 

[dstimber]

Lol

 

[treebilly]

I tend to agree with kill them all. I despise them but there is a company around me that must specialize in them because that’s all I’ve ever seen than do. Great reduction guys. I’ve tried and I can’t match their work. They are pretty resilient bastards. I doubt the disease will harm them. Only way I’ve found is to prune at ground level and then grind the stump. That last part is important. With out grinding the stump you end up with a Bradford pear bush in the next year

 

[forestkeepers]

I've seen that before but not sure what it is. Bradford Pear and Hackberry keeps my business running. I wouldn't have either one on my property but I can always count on a small storm to take out a few. The homeowners always seem so surprised that their trees broke apart.

For me, the title said it all -- Bradford Pear Disease. They themselves are the disease. I can't understand why anyone in Kansas would choose to plant them, as it's like planting something with a countdown timer attached, ready to blow up in 10-15 years. For us it's Bradfords and silver maples that tend to be a fair percentage of our removals (I just took one down on Tuesday). For us, hackberry seem rather hardy and well adapted to this climate, withstanding storms and maintaining integrity. Ever see the champion?