200 Year Jackson Magnolia is Removed

A southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) tree planted by President Andrew Jackson nearly 200 years ago was removed in April 2025 due to its dire condition. Jackson planted the magnolia to commemorate his wife Rachel, who passed away two weeks before his inauguration in 1829.


The magnolia stood near the curved portico on the south side of the building. This is where foreign leaders are often welcomed for ceremonial visits, and where the president departs to board the Marine One helicopter.


The Jackson magnolia was the oldest tree on the White House grounds and was so famous that it was pictured on the back of the $20 bill. There was a tradition of giving cuttings or seedlings grown from the tree: President Reagan gave a cutting to his Chief of Staff, Howard Baker upon his retirement, and Michelle Obama donated a seedling to the "people's garden" of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Since the 1970s the tree has been in tough shape. The tree was structurally compromised (partially damaged by a 1994 plane crash), deemed a safety hazard, and removed by arborists. The trunk was in an extremely fragile condition and the supports had been compromised. For years it was known that the tree was coming to the end, and so offshoots from the Jackson magnolia have been cultivated. A healthy, 12-year-old sapling, a direct descendant grown from the original, was planted in its place to continue the tradition.

Easter Egg Roll at the White House, 1944. The Jackson magnolia is the tree on the left.  

Former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden pray around a new magnolia tree on the White House's grounds. The Jackson magnolia is on the left.

The removed tree is unlikely to face a wood chipper future: The Park Service said it is working with the White House to ensure the preservation of the salvageable remnants of the Jackson Magnolia.

Two Men Found Guilty of the Felling the Sycamore Gap Tree

Here is an update to the story I wrote last January about the Sycamore Gap tree that was felled by vandals:

The Sycamore Gap tree could be growing again by the time the two are released. The stump has thrown up basal shoots and is still alive, albeit severely coppiced; the tree is expected to take more than 150 years to recover. Cuttings were also gathered from the tree.  

Multiple Trees Sawed Down in L.A.

In April 2025, vandals used chainsaws to cut down a dozen trees across downtown Los Angeles, primarily along Grand Avenue and other key streets, sparking public outrage and an LAPD investigation as residents discovered the "human hurricane" of destruction.

The trees were cleanly cut down at their base, leaving large stumps and toppled trees on sidewalks.  A chainsaw was used, with security footage showing a single person on a bike committing the vandalism.  Authorities later arrested a suspect, Samuel Groft, 44, in connection with the malicious, illegal act that cost the city hundreds of thousands to replace the lost trees. Trees provide so many benefits to urban areas. They capture stormwater runoff, replenish groundwater and slow the deterioration of streets. They also clean the air and help to cool areas that are experiencing increasingly hot temperatures due to global climate change and the built environment.

A Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered Groft to stand trial on nine felony counts of vandalism for cutting down 12 trees and sawing a limb off another. Groft is currently in jail, his bail having been set at $350,000. Mayor Karen Bass has promised residents that all of the trees would be quickly replaced, an expense police say will be more than $350,000. No small feat in a city that's facing a billion-dollar budget shortfall.

Some of the damaged trees included Chinese elms, ficus sycamore and palms.

The sight of butchered trees in downtown L.A., some of the few spots of greenery in an urban landscape, has unnerved and saddened Angelenos far beyond downtown.