Callery Pear Buyback 2026
For Johnson County, KS Residents Only
Sponsored By
Once considered an up-and-coming ornamental shade tree in the 1950s, the Callery pear was imported from Asia and is often sold as nursery selections named Bradford, Chanticleer, Aristocrat, or Cleveland Select. Through hybridization and bird and mammal dispersal, it has escaped cultivation and overtaken roadways, woodlands, and grasslands. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, a single wild tree can spread quickly by seed and vegetative means, often forming dense thickets within several years and outcompeting native plants. In forested settings, it leaves out earlier than our native trees, effectively shading out spring wildflowers and other native vegetation.
To continue to spread awareness about how the invasive Callery pear tree (Pyrus calleryana) causes harm to economics and the environment, Contain the Rain and Deep Roots are hosting our third Callery Pear Buy-back in Johnson County, KS.
Learn More About Callery Pear & Other Invasives
2026 Event Dates & Locations
Johnson County Residents
Callery Pear Buyback
May 9th, 2026, 10am-1pm.
Sponsored by Johnson County Stormwater’s Contain The Rain program, in partnership with Deep Roots and the City of Prairie Village, KS
Prairie Village Municipal Offices, South Parking Lot 7700 Mission Rd. Prairie Village, KS, 66208
How to get your free native tree when you cut down a Callery pear!
- Cut down a Callery pear tree on your property! And take a photo of it, perhaps with a person or house in the background for scale.
- Register using the Eventbrite link above for one of 150 trees, beginning on April 17th at 9am.
- Show up to pick up your free tree on May 9th at the Deep Roots Native Plant Sale event location. Verify your Johnson Co residency, then show your removed pear photo to Deep Roots staff, volunteers, or partners as you check in to select your free native replacement.
The offer is limited to one native tree (3-gallon pot size, approximately 4 feet tall) per Johnson County household. Registration is required.
When you register, you will be reserved ONE native tree. Available varieties and information about each are below.
Important – Tree availability will be on a first-come, first-served basis. No reservations for specific trees. Trees will be available only during event times on May 9th. Please show up if you register, as supplies are limited to 150 registrants and demand is high.