WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — Stumpy, a gnarled cherry tree that earned social media celebrity status among the District of Columbia’s array of flowering trees, will be cut down this year.

In early summer, crews will begin repairs to the crumbling seawall along the
Tidal Basin, the area around the Jefferson Memorial where many of the flowering trees were planted decades ago.

Ahead of that seawall work, officials said, about 140 cherry trees will need to be removed.

That list includes Stumpy, a nickname for a scrawny cherry tree trunk whose roots get flooded during high tide and has a few branches that bloom every year. While the tree itself is about 25 years old, its appearance and resilience got wide attention during spring 2020 and Stumpy became a social media star.

This year, the tree is getting even more attention from visitors that it is publicly known it will be removed.

Once the three-year project is done, 277 cherry trees will be planted as replacements.

“It’s certainly going to benefit the visitor experience, and that’s very important to us,” said Mike Litterst, National Park Service spokesman for the National Mall, said about the renovation work. “But most of all, it’s going to benefit the cherry trees, who right now are every day, twice a day, seeing their roots inundated with the brackish water of the Tidal Basin.”

The cherry trees began peak bloom this year on March 17, several days earlier than expected.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring is widely considered to be the start of the tourist season in the nation’s capital. Organizers expect 1.5 million people to view the pink and white blossoms this year.

After Stumpy is removed, the National Arboretum plans to take parts of the tree’s genetic material and create clones, some of which will eventually be replanted at the Tidal Basin.

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