My story on Sunday about South Bendâs extended ban on planting and selling invasive species, which the city council passed Monday, drew lots of comments.
Many denounced a tree on the banned list, the callery pear, which has a cultivar known as Bradford pear, known for being weak and splitting easily in a storm. Callery pear wasnât invasive when it was introduced, but decades later, as cultivars were developed, it became fertile and spread aggressively into open fields.
Some donât see harm in periwinkle, a groundcover with purple flowers. Iâve grown it, too (not anymore), and it wonât stop spreading. Others say crime and violence are better issues to tackle.