First saplings from felled Sycamore Gap tree to be planted

THE first saplings grown from the illegally felled Sycamore Gap tree are to be planted as National Tree Week kicks off, the National Trust has said.

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Five saplings will go in the ground today, with more than half of the 49 “trees of hope” from the sycamore that stood for more than a century in a dip in Hadrian’s Wall expected to be planted over the course of the week.

The tree was deliberately cut down overnight in September 2023, prompting a national outcry and a police investigation.

Earlier this year, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were found guilty of its illegal felling and were sentenced to more than four years in prison.

The saplings - 49 to mark the sycamore’s height in feet when it was cut down - were grown from the seeds and material rescued from the felled tree, which grew on land cared for by the National Trust, and were nurtured at the charity's plant conservation centre.

The first places to plant the trees, which are now between four and six feet tall, include the Tree Sanctuary in Coventry, where a teenage trio set up a project to rescue their city’s trees.