Its not possible to remove them all. I would love to do that with Autumn Olive but itll be back. Sometimes it makes sense to knock it back until desirable species can get a jump start. In other cases, turn a bad thing into a good thing!
Frankentree: Plumblee, Dixie Delight, Ayers, 20th Century, Drippin Honey, Harvest Queen, Korean Giant
I like your approach better
Yes! Everyone should be aware that “Ayers” is a beast on callery. It will likely need to be controlled on a multi-varietal tree; if left to its own devices it will out-compete nashi and other lower vigor pears on the stock. A truly delectable summer sugar pear, though, and very disease-resistant. I keep thinking about putting one on OHxF 333 or some other more manageable rootstock . . . . (Edit/Afterthought: maybe an interstem of one of the lower vigor OHxF series on callery would tame wild ones such as Ayers?)
Anyhow, glad to see folks making some good use of calleries. They are an invasive nuisance (and some of the same qualities that make them so, also make them good, durable rootstocks!), but I agree that at this point in time it is an impossibility to eradicate them entirely from North America. Even if possible, the vast quantities of herbicides needed would likely have their own ecological ramifications!
I recently re-parked a local callery volunteer next to “Art’s Bosc,” and will try to make it earn its keep as a host for “Docteur Desportes”!
I didn’t figure much of anything could be controlled on callery without extraordinary effort.
