Stumpy, the gnarled, old cherry tree, is gone. But its clones — little Stumplings — live on.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stumpy lives on!

The stunted and gnarled cherry tree that became an unlikely social media celebrity was cut down after the 2024 National Cherry Blossom Festival, along with more than 100 other trees, to make way for a massive repair project on the crumbling seawall protecting the Tidal Basin.

But thanks to the efforts of the National Arboretum, little Stumplings — actually clones of the tree — have taken root and could be returned to their parent’s home in the next couple of years.

Earlier this year, workers collected multiple clippings and samples from Stumpy, transporting them to the Arboretum in a protective cooler.

In a tree-mendous story of survival, those clippings have been replanted and nurtured to the point where the Arboretum now has five small self-sustaining plants in its care. The process was complicated and delicate with no guarantees that it would actually work, said Piper Zettel, a horticulturist at the Arboretum.

“Rooting the cuttings of woody plants is not a guaranteed success. Timing and the condition of the cutting material are probably the most critical elements, but many variables could have influenced the results of this process,” Zettel said.

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