Chanticleer pear tree resistant to fire blight, other problems

If you like the spring flowers and the fall color of Bradford Pear trees but have been disappointed when the wind and ice causes their limbs to break and split, there is an alternative tree to consider. The Chanticleer pear, also known as Cleveland Select, may be the tree you are looking for.
Chanticleer Callery Pear was chosen as the Urban Tree of the Year by the Society of Municipal Arborists in 2005. Its attributes are good. It is narrower than other pears and grows in an upright pyramid shape to a height ranging from 30 to 50 feet. In the spring it has clusters of white flowers. Its leaves are a glossy green and turn red in the fall, about mid November, before they drop. It does have grape-like clusters of very small fruit that is not edible. This fruit is not a nuisance.
Chanticleer pear is resistant to fire blight, a problem that some of the other pear cultivars have. It can be planted in different kinds of soils and is drought resistant. It should be planted in a sunny location.
We have had a Chanticleer pear planted in heavy red clay soil along the street in front of our home for more than 10 years. It came through the ice storm of 2007 with almost no damage. What damage it did get was from limbs falling onto it off adjacent hackberry trees. Unfortunately I placed it a little too close to these existing trees and now it has grown into some of their upper limbs.
Speaking of trees, the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee will distribute free trees from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Shawnee Municipal Airport north of the large hangers. The entrance gate is opposite the OBU softball field on Airport Drive. One thousand trees were requested including oak, pine, bald cypress, elm, pistache, maple and redbud. As in the two previous distributions, the suppliers may not have all these varieties and may send substitutions. The trees are provided by the Oklahoma Tree Bank Foundation and are funded by the Apache Foundation. There will be a limit of three trees per household.
Another reason to be glad you live in Shawnee: The city of Moore announced a similar tree distribution from the same organizations for November but they will charge their citizens $5 per tree.