Happy spring and hello to our new subscribers!
If you are here for the Callery pear buyback program, you're in the right spot!
If you have missed information about that program & species here's a quick overview:
- Seedings from Callery pear and its cultivars, ‘Bradford’, ‘Cleveland Select’, ‘Aristocrat’ and others, continue their unwanted spread in rural and urban landscapes.
- Beginning January 1, 2027, the Kansas Department of Agriculture will prohibit the sale of Callery pear trees in Kansas to help control the spread of this invasive species.
- To help spread awareness (not seed!) about the need to remove and replace Callery pears, the Kansas Forest Service will host a Callery pear buy-back event in the fall of 2025.
- This event will take place in Manhattan, KS but is open to any Kansas resident.
- In the spring of 2026, more buyback events will be announced across the state!
- Kansans who remove a Callery pear tree in 2025 or 2026 will be eligible to sign up and receive a free replacement tree.
- We recognize how many people want to participate but we can only provide replacement trees to those who can sign up as our supply is limited!
There will be a sign-up for both the fall and spring events.
Additional information will be announced first in this newsletter!
