Description

Leaves: Alternate; simple; broadly ovate to ovate; 1-1/2" to 3" long and nearly as wide; deciduous; rounded teeth on margin; leaf base flat across or somewhat cordate; glabrous; dark green; glossy; turning orange, yellow, red, or purple in fall.

Twigs/buds: Twigs brownish-green; glabrous and glossy when mature.  Terminal bud 1/4" to 1/2" long, very wooly, gray-brown; lateral buds similar in size and appearance.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect, showy, white; 1/2" to 1" in diameter.  Fruit a pome; rounded; 1/2" across or less; reddish-brown; production is uneven and many trees may have no fruit.

Bark: Gray-brown; smooth on younger stems breaking vertically into wide, flat plates.

Wood: No information available.

General: Native to China.  Fairly tough and withstands high soil pH quite well.  Shade intolerant.  Weak wood and/or branch structure.

Landscape Use: This small to medium-sized tree with a nice, conical canopy has been widely planted throughout the U.S., mainly as the cultivar 'Bradford'.  Its white flowers in early spring and its fall color are outstanding.  It has several problems, however, including an eventual size that is bigger than most people expect, occasional winter kill of buds and possibly cambium in colder locations, poor branch attachment due to included bark, and a flower odor that is objectionable to some.  Zones 5(4?)-9.

Cultivars: 'Bradford' – The most common P. calleryana cultivar; broad pyramidal shape. Fast-growing with weak branch structure. Flowers white, leaves green, fall color yellow to red. Grows 30 to 50 ' tall by 20 by 30' wide. Overused in landscapes.
'Chanticleer', 'Select', 'Cleveland Select', or 'Stone Hill' – Upright pyramidal shape, narrower than 'Bradford.' Slightly more cold hardy than 'Bradford.'

Characteristics