Clones of Stumpy, Washington D.C.’s beloved cherry blossom tree, have flowered for the first time

Stumpy lives again.

Clones of the scraggly, beloved cherry blossom tree felled two years ago in the nation’s capital have flowered for the first time this spring, reaching what federal officials described Wednesday as a “pinnacle achievement.”

The U.S. National Arboretum said in a statement that the plant material used to propagate the Yoshino cherry clones was collected in the summer of 2024. It was one of thousands that line the banks of the Tidal Basin reservoir between the Thomas Jefferson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorials.

Clones of Stumpy are flowering for the first time this spring. U.S. National Arboretum

The new trees are healthy and have put on substantial growth since forming their own root systems, according to the statement. They will remain at a non-public research area until the National Park Service can replant them, perhaps as soon as next spring, the arboretum said.

“It is our hope that the story and spirit