Washington Nationals’ George, Teddy bid farewell to Stumpy

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A few “ICONS” from the sports and political worlds took time to snap a pic with another icon in D.C. on Friday morning.

George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt stopped by the Tidal Basin to bid farewell to Stumpy the cherry tree, the Washington Nationals said in a post on X.

So long, Stumpy: A brief history of the beloved cherry tree

Stumpy became known to many people in 2020, thanks to a post on the Reddit forum r/washingtondc. Since then, visitors and natives alike have made the trek to the Tidal Basin to visit the tree that refused to die against all odds.

The National Park Service (NPS) announced earlier this month that Stumpy was one of the trees that needed to be removed in order for crews to make repairs to the seawall. Since then, crowds have flocked to see the tree’s last peak bloom and say goodbye.

NPS said that the National Arboretum will take part of the Stumpy tree and provide some genetic matches that can be planted.

NPS said that all of the removed trees will become mulch for use at the National Mall, which will protect the trees’ roots and eventually become soil.

The trees around the tidal bloom officially hit peak bloom on Sunday, the second-earliest peak bloom in the trees’ history.

NPS said in a post on Thursday afternoon that some windy days had knocked down some blossoms but that overall, it expected the trees to stay beautiful throughout the weekend.

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