100 iconic Washington cherry trees to be cut down, including ‘dwarf’

The sun is setting and this gnarled old cherry tree has become a star on social media. This year’s Washington Cherry Blossom Festival will be the last for Stumpy and more than 100 other cherry trees that will be cut down as part of a multi-year restoration of their Tidal Basin home.

Starting in early summer, crews will begin repairing crumbling seawalls around the Tidal Basin, the area surrounding the Jefferson Memorial with the highest concentration of cherry trees. The work is long overdue, as worsening conditions, coupled with rising sea levels, have caused the waters of the Potomac to frequently breach the barrier.

Twice-daily flooding at high tide not only submerges some sidewalks but also often soaks the roots of some cherry blossom trees. The $133 million project to rebuild and strengthen the seawall will take about three years, said Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the National Park Service on the National Mall.

“It’s definitely going to benefit the visitor experience, which is very important to us,” Littlest said. “But most importantly, it will benefit cherry trees, which now see their roots submerged in the salt water of the Tidal Basin every day.” The entire 100-yard, or 90-meter, wide Trees are gone and cannot be replaced “unless we address the underlying causes of their death in the first place.”

Humpty Dumpty is still alive

Humpty Dumpty, although in rough shape, is still alive.

Plans call for 140 cherry trees (out of a total of 300) to be removed and converted to mulch. After the project is completed, 277 cherry blossom trees will be planted as replacements.

Littester said the mulch will protect the roots of surviving trees from foot traffic and break down into nutrient-rich soil over time, “so it’s a good first step for trees that have been cut down.” Second Life”.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is widely considered the start of the tourist season in the nation’s capital. Organizers expect 1.5 million people to view the pink and white flowers this year, the most since the coronavirus pandemic began. The cherry blossoms entered their peak blooming period on March 17, a few days earlier than expected, attracting a large number of cherry blossom lovers here.

Become a social star

Stumpy became a social media star during the 2020 pandemic. Its legacy has spawned T-shirts, calendars and a fan base. News of the stump’s last spring prompted people to leave flowers and bourbon, and one Reddit user threatened to chain himself to the trunk to save the tree.

The good news about the stump is that the National Arboretum plans to use some of the tree’s genetic material and create clones, some of which will eventually be replanted in the Tidal Basin.

Frequent flooding in the tidal basin—sea levels have risen about a foot since seawalls were built in the early 1990s—is just one of the ways climate change is affecting cherry trees. Rising global temperatures and warmer winters are causing earlier flowering periods.

This year’s peak flowering period was originally expected to begin around Saturday, when 70% of the city’s 3,700 cherry blossom trees would be in bloom, but it was finally announced on March 17. In comparison, peak flowering in 2013 began on April 9.

Leslie Frattaroli, national resources program manager for the Park Service, told The Associated Press in February that by 2050, peak bloom could occur regularly in mid-March.

“All windows are closed,” he said. “It’s a huge knock-on effect.”

Another weather side effect: A mid-March cold snap in the Washington area should actually extend this year’s blooming period past its expected end on April 9.

For visitors and cherry blossom lovers, the annual walk among the flowers in the Tidal Basin is a core Washington experience.

Jorge Perez and Sandra Perez come up every year from Stafford, Virginia.

“Yes, we have cherry blossoms in our community, but it’s a completely different feeling when you see them all blooming together,” Sandra Perez said. “You know, you can walk through the trees underneath it and smell it. It’s just, it’s a beautiful view.”

They also come looking for the stump because they heard the legend and know this will be its last spring.

“It’s actually beautiful,” Jorge Perez said. “So, I’m sad to see him go.”