WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is expected to plant a young sapling from a historic White House Southern Magnolia tree on Tuesday.
The sapling is 12 years old and was grown at the offsite National Park Service Greenhouse in preparation for the removal of its parent tree, the “Jackson Magnolia.”
On Monday, the rain did not stop the chopping down of the tree, considered one of the oldest on the White House complex.
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The Jackson Magnolia sat on the South Lawn Grounds along the west side of the South Portico.
Peter Hart Consultants LLC did an assessment of the tree, concluding in its report that the tree has “surpassed the time of serving as an aesthetic and historic landmark due to the potential harm it may cause because of the risk of structural failure.” Hart is a board-certified master arborist.
The report also recommended the tree’s removal.
“To eliminate the risk of personal injury and/or property damage, this tree should be removed as soon as can be scheduled,” it noted.
In coordination with the White House Grounds team and NPS, arborists cut the tree down in sections using a chainsaw, then lowered the parts with wires.
Dale Haney, White House Grounds superintendent, told Fox News Digital that he “hate[d] to see it go,” but the tree needed to be taken down. (See the video at the top of this article.)
“We have done everything for this tree to keep it up,” said Haney.
“In 1984, during the Reagan years, we put a metal pole in the back of the tree to support it, and we tied it off, and we probably have 50 or 60 ties to the pole through the tree and to the other trees around it to keep it from coming down,” he added.
A National Park Service spokesperson said in a statement, “Despite ongoing preservation efforts, the ‘Jackson Magnolia’ has reached the end of its lifespan and must be removed due to safety concerns.”
The average lifespan of a Southern magnolia is 100 years.
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The White House Grounds comprise the oldest continually maintained landscape in the U.S.
The property contains 33 commemorative plantings.
“After expert analysis and careful coordination between a board-certified master arborist, National Park Service, the White House Grounds superintendent, the White House Executive Residence and its Office of the Curator, the Offices of the President and the First Lady, the White House has made the careful decision to remove the Jackson Magnolia to ensure the safety of staff, visitors and the Grounds themselves,” said a White House spokesperson.
The White House Executive Residence, plus the Office of the Curator, will ensure the preservation of the salvageable remnants of the “Jackson Magnolia” and use those for future saplings, Fox News Digital was told.
“Remnants of the old tree will be preserved by the Office of the Curator and honored by the White House, and this new tree will continue the heritage of the ‘Jackson Magnolia’ for generations to come,” said the White House spokesperson.
The NPS spokesperson said the “sapling from the original tree will continue the tradition of honoring this tree’s history while investing in the future.”
A sample of the Jackson Magnolia will be saved by NPS for historical purposes.
“The rest of the wood will be given to the Executive Residence at the White House, which is part of the Executive Office of the President,” the spokesperson added.
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In a recent Truth Social post, President Trump said he was working with “the wonderful people at the National Park Service” to make “tremendous enhancements to the White House, thereby preserving and protecting History!”
A sample of the Jackson Magnolia will be saved for historical purposes.
He added, “One of the interesting dilemmas is a tree planted many years ago by the Legendary President and General, Andrew Jackson. It is a Southern Magnolia that came from his home, The Hermitage, in Tennessee. That’s the good news!”
He also said, “The bad news is that everything must come to an end, and this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed.”
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See the exclusive video below of the tree coming down on Monday, April 7.
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