609
submitted 7 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

Japan is giving the United States 250 new cherry trees to help replace the hundreds that are being ripped out this summer as construction crews work to repair the crumbling seawall around the capital’s Tidal Basin.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the announcement as President Joe Biden welcomed him to the White House on Wednesday for an official visit and state dinner. Biden said the gift is meant to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. in 2026, adding, “Like our friendship, these trees are timeless, inspiring and thriving.”

In 1912, first lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador to the United States, planted two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River’s Tidal Basin. They were part of the 3,000 such trees Japan gave the U.S. in a symbol of the two countries’ friendship.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] crazyCat@sh.itjust.works 16 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Why couldn’t they also transplant and save the old trees?

Edit: ok I believe you guys, was just hopeful and curious

[-] Animated_beans@lemmy.world 19 points 7 months ago

As the other commenter already said, it is really hard to transplant old trees. Think about how big tree roots get. There is no way to save 100% of a planted tree's roots so cuts have to be made. And by the time you are able to free the tree from the ground, you've often cut too much of its roots for it to survive.

[-] Nurgle@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

That plus they also have comparatively shorter lifespans.

load more comments (5 replies)
this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2024
609 points (99.2% liked)

World News

39019 readers
2257 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS