Storied but sickly, historic W.House magnolia to come down / Photo: SAUL LOEB - AFP/File
-
Rene Eyre Revisits Autobiographical Performance 'Say A Little Prayer' in London
-
London Museum Granted 24/7 License Ahead of November Opening
-
UAE's HCT Holds Record Graduation and Announces Major Training Expansion
-
Dana White Confirms Flight to Washington for Trump Meeting on Press Secretary Role
-
NASA Awards $10B Lunar Contract Framework to SpaceX, Blue Origin
-
Dengue Fever Expands Into High Himalayas as Climate Change Warms Nepal
-
Katy Perry Tells Fans Ex-Husband Russell Brand 'Should Be in Jail' During UK Concert
-
IoT Refrigerator Hacks Disrupt Blood Labs and Supermarkets Across Europe and US
-
South African election results renew debate over identity-based voting
-
Post-election pressures complicate US and Israeli decisions on Iran
-
South African voters report smoother local election but declining IEC trust
-
UN members approve talks on treaty protocol against environmental crime
-
Dolly Parton museum and Nashville hotel open after singer’s death
-
Family-run West Sussex beach café prepares for first winter season
-
George and Amal Clooney attend New York political-comedy reading
-
CT scans reveal health and burial clues from Egypt’s Braided Lady mummy
-
British buyers pay substantial premiums for period-home appearance
-
Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
-
Thomas Markle released to house arrest after child-abuse-image charge
-
Kyren Wilson and John Higgins reach International Championship snooker final
-
Dawn of War 4 developers chose Adeptus Mechanicus for tactical variety
-
New Zealand and Tonga meet for place in Rugby League World Cup final
-
Italy face unbeaten South Africa in Turin Nations Championship match
-
Reports of unsafe AI-toy responses renew calls for child-safety rules
Storied but sickly, historic W.House magnolia to come down
An enormous tree known as the Jackson Magnolia which has shaded the White House's South Portico for the majority of US presidencies will be taken down this week, Donald Trump said Sunday.
Arborists have struggled for years to keep alive the sickly southern magnolia, whose striking figure marks a focal point along the building's southern facade.
According to tradition, the tree was planted by former president Andrew Jackson to commemorate his wife who died just before his swearing-in in 1829. It was purportedly a sapling brought from his home in Tennessee.
The tree is the oldest on the White House grounds, according to the National Park Service, which notes that starting in the 1870s most presidents began installing their own commemorative trees.
"The bad news is that everything must come to an end," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, explaining that the magnolia was "in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed."
Trump said the historic magnolia would be replaced by "another, very beautiful tree" and that its wood would be preserved "and may be used for other high and noble purposes."
The White House gardens already made headlines earlier this year when Trump said he was planning to pave over the famed Rose Garden that the Oval Office overlooks, to give it the patio-like feel of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
"The grass just doesn't work," Trump told Fox News, adding that it gets "soaking wet."
During Trump's first term, his wife Melania oversaw a renovation of the Rose Garden, controversially rearranging the fabled plot's traditional design.
K.Hassan--SF-PST