re: Bradford Pear Crotch Bowl

BTW, Bradford Pear is a cultivar of Callery Pear which is considered an invasive species from Asia which may be more common in some places than the Bradford variety.   Callerys often have thorns, while the Bradfords generally do not.    The Bradford variety is mostly fruitless and does not reproduce as easily as the regular variety but may cross breed with other pears which brings back the negatives associated with the invasive variety.  I think that the Bradford is also more likely to have the branching pattern that causes them to break so easily in a storm. In areas where the Callery has become invasive there are often drives to eradicate them.