Washington, DC's most famous "dead" tree is back in bloom—sort of. The National Arboretum says cloned offspring of "Stumpy," the scraggly Yoshino cherry that became a social media favorite along the Tidal Basin, have blossomed for the first time this spring, NBC News reports. Plant material was collected in summer 2024, months before Stumpy was cut down as part of a seawall repair project that took out around 300 trees, including 158 cherry trees, near the National Mall.
The young clones, now healthy and growing on their own roots, are being kept in a restricted research area. The National Arboretum says trees that grew from Stumpy's cuttings could be replanted around the Tidal Basin as early as next spring, WUSA9 reports. Officials described the blooming as a "pinnacle achievement" for the cloning effort. "It is our hope that the story and spirit of these trees will inspire future generations of cherry tree enthusiasts around the world—deepening cultural connections for years to come," arboretum director Richard Olsen said.
Stumpy's unlikely fame dates to a 2020 Reddit post that joked the battered tree was as lifeless as the poster's love life—"but I still love it." Photojournalist Carol Guzy spent three months photographing Stumpy before it was cut down. "In recent years, Stumpy became a symbol of resilience, a miracle in our midst, blooming his little heart out despite the frail weathered condition of his fragile shell of a trunk," she wrote at CNN. "He is a social media celebrity and cautionary tale of climate change. He captured our imaginations, inspired all of us who feel broken. Aren't we all damaged in some way? We can still bloom and transcend adversity."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
