ST. LOUIS —The Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP), in partnership with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, Forrest Keeling Nursery, and the Missouri Department of Conservation, will host a Callery pear “buyback” program in locations around the state on April 22. On this date, citizens who register with a photo of a cut down Callery pear tree from their property will receive a free native tree.
“As we prepare for spring, many Callery pear trees—also known as Bradford pears—will soon begin to bloom,” said Carol Davit, chair of the Missouri Invasive Plant Council. “The profuse white blossoms of this highly invasive tree make their alarming spread especially apparent in spring, along roadsides, in fields, parks, and on private property.”
Registration for the Callery Pear Buyback event is open from March 17 through April 17. To register, participants choose a native tree and submit a photo of the cut-down Callery pear tree. One free, non-invasive, native tree will be given to registered participants at the selected location on the day of the event, April 22, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Participants receive potted native trees between 2 and 4 feet tall, in 3-gallon containers. Trees of this size are easier to transport than larger ones, minimize stress on trees in the planting process, and allow MoIP to offer more trees in more locations to more Missourians.
MoIP is grateful to the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Missouri Community Forestry Council for their financial support of the 2025 Callery Pear Buyback Program, as well as to Forrest Keeling Nursery and Forest ReLeaf of Missouri for tree donations. Financial and administrative support also comes from the Missouri Prairie Foundation and Missouri Department of Conservation.
To register or for more information about this event, including a full list of locations, media contacts, native tree species offered, and how to identify Callery pear trees, visit moinvasives.org/2025/01/31/2025-callery-pear-buyback/, or contact MoIP Coordinator Emily Render, (573) 569-8659, at info@moinvasives.org.
Program partners include: Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) – www.moinvasives.org; Forest ReLeaf – www.moreleaf.org; Forrest Keeling – www.fknursery.com; and Missouri Department of Conservation – https://mdc.mo.gov.