Following this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, the stunted and gnarled cherry tree that became an unexpected social media celebrity was cut down along with more than 100 other trees to make way for a major repair project on the crumbling seawall that protects the tidal basin.

But thanks to the efforts of the National Arboretum, the little stumps took root and were able to be returned to their parents’ homes over the next few years.

Earlier this year, workers collected numerous tree cuttings and samples from Stumpy and transported them to the arboretum in a cooler.

In a tree-like story of survival, these cuttings were planted and nurtured to the point that the arboretum now cares for five small, self-sustaining plants.

The process was complicated and delicate and there was no guarantee that it would actually work, said Piper Zettel, a gardener at the arboretum.

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

In horticultural parlance, the original Stumpy is referred to as the “mother plant.” However, the five young seedlings in the arboretum’s care are clones of Stumpy rather than its children, as they are genetically identical to the original.

The rooted cuttings are still delicate and require years of patient care before they are ready for their public appearance.

The National Park Service, which oversees the Tidal Basin in front of the Jefferson Memorial, is aiming to complete the seawall repair project by spring 2026. A larger-than-usual influx of tourists is expected this summer for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

However, there is no guarantee that a Stumpy 2.0 will be ready for transplanting by this date.

“The new trees still have a long way to go, but we are doing everything we can to make sure the NPS gets strong, healthy, vigorous trees,” Zettel said. “The process takes a long time because trees grow very slowly. We have to be patient.”

Stumpy became a social media star during the COVID-19 pandemic. His legacy spawned T-shirts, a calendar and a fan base. The news that 2024 would be Stumpy’s last spring prompted people to Leave flowers And bourbon; a Reddit user threatened to chain himself to the trunk to save the tree.

The $133 million seawall repair project officially began construction on Thursday.

Instead of using a gold shovel or cutting a ribbon with oversized scissors, National Park Service officials opted to paint one of the 90-foot-tall metal poles gold. Observers applauded as a giant construction crane lowered the gold metal cylinder — one of about 700 that will be used — into the ground.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Catherine Townsend, president of the Trust for the National Mall, which supports publicly funded NPS projects with private donations. “It’s hard to see all these construction fences and cranes, but it has to happen.”

In addition to the deterioration of the levee due to age and weather, water levels have risen about 13 inches since the levee was built in the 1940s. As a result, water from the Tidal Basin overflows the levee twice a day at high tide, blocking pedestrian walkways and drenching the roots of cherry blossom trees with destructive brackish water.

“It was a sad moment for us to have to cut down so many cherry blossom trees,” said Chuck Sams, director of the National Park Service. “Stumpy is a true symbol of resilience simply because he survived under these conditions.”

While NPS aims to complete construction by spring 2026, construction will inevitably impact next spring’s cherry blossom season.

“We just ask people to be patient,” Sams said, “because on the other side there will be improved facilities and an improved visitor experience.”