No longer love affair with Bradford pear trees

The trees were once considered a darling spectacle in the Walhalla downtown, but now South Carolina is set to become only the second state in the country to ban the nursery sale of Bradford pear trees.  The ban on sales will begin October 1, 2024, which is the annual nursery licensing renewal date in South Carolina.  Ohio will become the first state on January 1, 2023, after passing regulations banning the sale of the species in 2018 with a 5-year grandfathering period.  Callery pears have nasty thorns that can damage everything from tractor tires to livestock, and their root systems are blamed for buckling sidewalks.  While the ban on these plants will make them illegal to sell or trade within South Carolina, it’s important for the public to know it will not be illegal to possess them on their property or to keep what they have, according to the announcement from Clemson’s Regulatory and Public Service Programs.