Cherry Blossoms

Long live Stumpy: Iconic cherry tree removed from DC's Tidal Basin

Rest in peace, Stumpy. You were a good little tree.

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After years of blooming despite all odds, the little cherry tree that could ... can't anymore.

Stumpy is dead.

We knew this day was coming: that Stumpy's time with us was coming to a close. The National Park Service gave us plenty of warning during peak bloom, when they told us rehabilitation of the Tidal Basin seawall would require the removal of more than 100 trees, Stumpy included, sometime this spring.

We even knew it made scientific sense. Stumpy's home in the gentle but relentless flooding between the Ohio Drive Bridge and the Jefferson Memorial wasn't a good place for any tree.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: Flowers are left as a farewell the cherry tree nicknamed "Stumpy" during high tide at the Tidal Basin on March 28, 2024 in Washington, DC. The National Park Service announced that it will begin to cut down over 140 Cherry Blossom trees around the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park in anticipation of construction of an upgraded sea wall to guard against flooding. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Flowers were left as a farewell for the cherry tree nicknamed "Stumpy" during high tide at the Tidal Basin on March 28. The National Park Service announced that it will begin to cut down over 140 cherry trees around the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park in anticipation of construction of an upgraded sea wall to guard against flooding. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

"If you look to the left around the bend of the Tidal Basin that goes towards the Jefferson Memorial, there are no trees left there," Mike Litterst, National Park Service spokesperson, told us in March. "Because all of those trees that suffered the same inundation of water died, and were removed several years ago."

Still, Stumpy survived. Until Friday morning, when he became just a stump.

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D.C. residents visiting the Tidal Basin mid-morning on Friday were met with an empty space where Stumpy once stood.

That Stumpy survived for so long under hostile conditions is a testament to just how miraculous he was. And we knew he was miraculous going back to 2020, when a Reddit user posted Stumpy's portrait to r/WashingtonDC and said the tree was as dead as his love life.

"Mostly dead, it's slightly alive," responded one commenter, seemingly referencing the famous scene with Miracle Max from the 1987 film "The Princess Bride."

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Stumpy, a cherry tree on the southeast part of the Tidal Basin, is out here doing his best just like the rest of us 🌸 #cherryblossoms #cherryblossomseason #cherrytrees #spring #stumpy #reddit #washingtondc #dctok #virginia #maryland #DMV #DMVnews #thingstododc #cherryblossomfestival

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It's a fitting message, and one that summarizes Stumpy well: It's not over until it's over.

That post was made on Feb. 26, 2020 — little more than two weeks before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and institutions around the world closed indefinitely.

At a time when we all needed a little hope, it's no surprise that users latched onto Stumpy, posting updates as his few threadbare branches bloomed that spring. If Stumpy could make it through a brutal March 2020, maybe we could, too.

Then he did it again in 2021. And again. And again. And again, despite being essentially just a bark framework, barely transmitting nutrients to the few branches that bloom every spring, "and not much else," according to Litterst.

"There is no interior trunk," Litterst told us in March. "People ask us, 'You know how old that tree is?' There literally aren't any rings for us left to count on the interior of the tree."

A tree, blooming as it should, standing tall and beautiful — that's lovely, but unremarkable.

But a friendly little shard of bark, struggling to live in conditions outside its control, and doing it anyway? That's relatable.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 24: The cherry tree nicknamed Stumpy stands alone before dawn along the edge of the Tidal Basin on March 24, 2024, in Washington, DC. Stumpy and approximately 140 other cherry trees will be removed during a restoration project to rebuild the Tidal Basin retaining wall beginning later in 2024. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)
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The cherry tree nicknamed "Stumpy" stands before dawn along the edge of the Tidal Basin on March 24. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)

With each successive bloom, Stumpy's fame grew.

By this March, when the NPS announced he would have to go, he was loved enough to inspire marathon mascot costumes, calendars, T-shirts, cards, whiskey tributes and visits from diplomats.

The Japanese embassy posted a photo of their visit during peak bloom: three diplomats, all bowing to show respect to a half-dead tree holding court on the Tidal Basin, with the Washington Monument in the distance.

It's because Stumpy was so ragged that we loved him so much.

A tall tree, blooming as it should, standing beautiful and high above it all — well, that's lovely, but unremarkable. But a friendly little shard of bark, struggling to live in conditions outside its control and hostile to its existence, and doing it anyway? That's relatable.

We are all Stumpy: proof that life can not only continue, but thrive, in a way, when and where it doesn't feel like it should.

But then came the news: The Tidal Basin seawall has to be repaired. That can't happen while the cherry trees in the area remain. And if it's not repaired, the slow sinking of the seawall will kill the trees anyway, and prevent the NPS from planting any more.

But Stumpy could leave behind a legacy of new trees

Before Stumpy was removed, horticulturists from the U.S. National Arboretum were tapped by the NPS to collect clippings from the tree.

The tree experts at the Arboretum's headquarters in D.C. and their satellite location in McMinnville, Tennessee will prep those clippings for propagation.

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Stumpy has put up a good fight from his spot near the Tidal Basin. That fight will come to an end in May.⁠ ⁠ But to preserve Stumpy as best they can, the National Park Service has enlisted the help of some D.C. tree experts: the U.S. National Arboretum.⁠ ⁠ Here's how they'll try and turn clippings from Stumpy into a series of Stumpy 2.0s, creating more trees that are genetically identical to the Little Cherry Tree that Could.⁠ (And as much as we wish the Stumpy we know and love could stick around... transplanting him somewhere else just wouldn't work. Learn why at the link in bio.)⁠ ⁠ stumpy savestumpy stumpyclones cherrytrees cherryblossoms peakbloom tidalbasin science trees nature washingtondc maryland virginia pgcounty dc districtofcolumbia dmv northernvirginia alexandriava northernva arlingtonva fairfaxcounty nova md mocomd pgcountymd

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With the care of determined scientists and the luck of Mother Nature, those clippings will continue growing into baby trees, which — two or three years from now — will be planted back along the Tidal Basin.

"The process takes a long time," Piper Zettel, one of those arboretum horticulturists, told us. "Trees grow very slow. So we need to be patient."

And, a couple more years after that, maybe with the same stubborn spirit that kept Stumpy himself alive, those Stumpy clones will also bloom with beautiful cherry blossoms we can all enjoy.

Stumpy as Stumpy 2.0 won't look the way we knew him in 2024. Those trees will be healthy and will live in along a Tidal Basin free of flooding. The original Stumpy will become mulch, which will decompose and nourish the roots of those children in their new home. (It's possible "The Circle of Life" will play softly in the background during the process ... at least in our minds.)

We were lucky enough to know and love Stumpy the first time around, however brief that was. We all witnessed the unique confluence of circumstances that created his rise to fame and necessitated his end. In the end, even if we can't recognize him, even if he's in a different form entirely, Stumpy will be still there.

What do you do when a symbol of hope and resilience has to go?

The answer, it seems, is more hope, and more resilience. You mourn. You remember, and share stories. You laugh. And then you rebuild.

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