Our response to the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree

New beginnings

We're currently looking after the seeds and cuttings that were taken from the felled tree at our Plant Conservation Centre. We’re pleased to say that they're showing promising signs, despite concerns about the tree still being in the growth stage of its annual cycle when it was felled.

Several dozen seeds are now sprouting, having been planted in specially tested peat-free compost. We’ve also been using a variety of propagation methods to create genetically identical replicas of the tree. One of these methods is ‘budding’, where a single bud from the original tree is attached to a rootstock of the same species. We've also used two forms of grafting – ‘whip and tongue’ and ‘apical wedge’ grafting – where a scion (a cutting from the tree) and a rootstock are joined together by corresponding cuts in the material.

Meanwhile, encouraging signs of new life are peeking through at the Sycamore Gap site, ten months after the tree was felled. Growing from the base of the stump new shoots have emerged giving hope that the tree lives on. We and the Northumberland National Park Authority are hopeful that if left to grow, the new shoots could develop significant new growth to form as 'new' trees around the original stump.

Conserving the tree

We've carefully moved the tree from Hadrian's Wall and have stored it safely. This was a complex and difficult operation at a very sensitive site and we're grateful to everyone who has assisted with this work. We've retained the tree in large sections, which means we can keep all options open for the future. Moving the tree has helped preserve Hadrian's Wall, which is a 1,900-year-old monument, and made the site safe for visitors again.

We've also installed a temporary fence to protect the tree’s stump, which we hope will begin to sprout new shoots in time. It could take up to three years to know if this will be possible. To protect the tree's stump and new shoots we'd like to ask visitors to keep away from the trunk and take note of signage and the fence to help ensure maximum potential for new growth.

Working together

We're working with the Northumberland National Park Authority, Historic England and Hadrian’s Wall Partnership to find the best way to honour the life of this much-loved tree. We'll announce further details of how local people and communities can get involved soon and we'll put any donations we've received to date towards commemorating the tree.

If you'd like to support our Plant a Tree appeal, which will help plant trees and support nature in Northumberland, you can donate at the bottom of the page. We'll put funds towards creating new woodlands and restoring nature in Northumberland.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in suggestions for how we can remember the sycamore. So far, we've had more than 2,000 ideas, with some of the most popular suggestions being to plant more trees to benefit nature, and to create a commemorative artwork. As a result, a collection of five bespoke commemorative tree prints, crafted by printmaker Shona Branigan and entitled 'Heartwood', have been created from a 90cm diameter disc of the felled tree trunk. Each print is individually themed, named, and colored, showcasing every ring, groove, and detail from the 200-year-old tree's heart-shaped trunk. This is one part of a programme of work that is being planned to remember the historical landmark and celebrate its legacy.

We’ve also received hundreds of memories, which we collected in a temporary reflection space at The Sill in the Northumberland National Park Authority’s visitor hub. We'll use them to help inform our plans for the tree going forward.

Commemorating the Sycamore Gap tree

This iconic sycamore tree was planted in the late 1800s by the previous landowner, John Clayton, to be a feature of the landscape. The land and the tree came into our care in the 1940s.

The tree found fame when it was featured in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1991 and was also awarded the English Tree of the Year award by the Woodland Trust in 2016.