Bradford Pear ‘bounty’ exchange announced for Wilmington
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — If you have a Bradford Pear tree on your property, a bounty is being offered for it.
Cape Fear area residents can remove the invasive tree in exchange for a free native tree.
Bradford Pear Bounty NC is a partnership between N.C. Wildlife Federation, N.C. State Extension, N.C. Urban Forest Council and N.C. Forest Service to help control the spread of invasive Bradford pears by removing them from communities and replacing them with native alternatives. Cape Fear residents must register for the offer HERE.
Registration will remain open until the event reaches capacity.
Replacement trees must be picked up on November 4th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Legion Stadium on Carolina Beach Road.
Pre-registered participants must take before-and-after photos of Bradford pear trees they’ve cut down. If the tree was not flowering when cut, an additional photo with a close-up of the leaves or bark is required. Participants must show the images to event organizers, who will then provide a 3-gallon native tree for each tree, up to five, they’ve cut down.
Residents who cut down their Bradford pear should cut as close to the ground as possible and paint the stump with an effective systemic herbicide to kill the root system, according to a press release. Alternatively, homeowners can remove the stump from the ground entirely to help prevent it from re-sprouting.
Replacement native trees are subject to availability and may include boxelder (Acer negundo), red maple (Acer rubrum), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), pawpaw (Asimina triloba), flowering dogwood (Benthamidia Florida), river birch (Betula nigra), Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), swamp blackgum (Nyssa biflora), sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) or swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor).
