cschannuth 3,816 #1 Posted June 19, 2017 We had some straight line winds in east central Missouri overnight that were more than the 20 year old Bradford Pear could stand. The boys opted to pull large chunks of the tree to the ravine with the golf cart because "it's faster". I opted for the C-161 because it's one of my favorites. My wife sneaked a few pics. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ken B 3,164 #2 Posted June 19, 2017 Looks like you got in a little seat time... Nice to see you didn't lose the whole tree. That looks to be a real nice C-161, and you have yourself a nice piece of property there. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,065 #3 Posted June 19, 2017 7 hours ago, cschannuth said: more than the 20 year old Bradford Pear could stand. Seat time The Bradfords are very popular in western NC too. I try to top mine out every few years to keep them short, The older ones on the property are very susceptible to limb loss like yours was. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496 #4 Posted June 19, 2017 Craig, I'm glad you guys are okay. From the weather reports, they were predicting wide spread damage, but we just got rain and some thunder and lightening down where I live southeast of you. Nothing major here. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cschannuth 3,816 #5 Posted June 19, 2017 17 minutes ago, T-Mo said: Craig, I'm glad you guys are okay. From the weather reports, they were predicting wide spread damage, but we just got rain and some thunder and lightening down where I live southeast of you. Nothing major here. Thanks. I was surprised to see the tree down. We had some rain but the wind didn't seem all that bad. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pfrederi 17,663 #6 Posted June 19, 2017 Bradford Pears are pretty but not very strong nor long lived. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cschannuth 3,816 #7 Posted June 19, 2017 Agreed. We were lucky this one lasted as long as it did. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TDF5G 2,069 #8 Posted June 19, 2017 We had strong storms in KC area for about 4 nights in a row, most severe was Friday night and another Saturday night. Lots of power outages around the area. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496 #9 Posted June 21, 2017 On 6/19/2017 at 0:56 PM, TDF5G said: We had strong storms in KC area for about 4 nights in a row, most severe was Friday night and another Saturday night. Lots of power outages around the area. I hope there wasn't too much damage. It seems like the western part of Missouri gets severely impacted by storms a lot, more so than the eastern part of the state. The EF-5 that hit Joplin May 22, 2011, comes to mind. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TDF5G 2,069 #10 Posted June 21, 2017 (edited) As far as I know, there wasn't very severe damage. Mostly tree limbs and signs. I did see pics of a few completely toppled trees. Here is a local pic I saw on Facebook. This is near where I live. I've never seen one go over like this, pulling up the sod like that! Edited June 21, 2017 by TDF5G Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota8338 115 #11 Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) What a waste of the wood. Bradford Pear wood is excellent for smoking and bar-b-quing! Edited July 4, 2017 by Dakota8338 grammer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cschannuth 3,816 #12 Posted July 4, 2017 Agreed. I took down the rest of the tree and have a nice stack of it in my wood pile. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cschannuth 3,816 #13 Posted June 15, 2018 Believe it or not my other 20 year old Bradford Pear got hit by straight line winds close to Father’s Day again but one year later. I was prepared to drag it to the neighbors ravine again and cut the tightly tangled branches into small enough pieces to be able to throw them in the ditch. That’s when my son got the bright idea to use the just finished FEL to push the four large trunks in the ditch. Each was about 25’ long/tall and 12” diameter at the stump. I was a little concerned since I don’t have the leaks fixed yet but it held just fine and did a great job with the heavy tree. My son snuck a video of it in action. 71A613EB-0B75-43FF-97F9-848645A5E48A.mov 2 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496 #14 Posted June 15, 2018 Nice work, Craig. Those loaders can come in handy. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,160 #15 Posted June 15, 2018 I hate to lose trees. Always a disappointment. But there’s no love lost for Bradford Pears. They’re pretty trees and are everywhere in suburbia, but they have their issues. Namely, weak branches and trunks that are very susceptible to wind damage. I snapped off an 8” diameter tree trunk when thI ROPS on my zero turn snagged in the branches. Didn’t even feel it and had no idea the tree was laying on the ground until I spun around for the next pass. The Bradford Pear also has become a bit of a nuisance invasive species: https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/avoid-invasive-trees-such-bradford-pear-landscape-plantings definately not horrible like those darn bush honeysuckle, but there are issues. Cut those suckers down 🙄 And remember, the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. Steve 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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