Fact check: Melania Trump did not remove cherry trees, historic roses from Rose Garden
The claim: In her recent renovation, Melania Trump removed historic roses and cherry trees from the Rose Garden
Posts on Facebook this week allege that first lady Melania Trump removed notable plants from the White House Rose Garden in her recent renovation, which came ahead of her speech at the Republican National Convention.
Some users — including the page Premunition — claimed she had removed cherry trees planted by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
"In yet another insult to George Washington and the country, Melania ordered the cherry tree to be chopped down," the post reads. "The Cherry trees planted by Jackie Kennedy. Every administration had preserved them!"
Other users — like the page Occupy Democrats — claimed she had removed historic roses from the garden.
"Melania dug up the WH Rose Garden, removing roses from every First Lady since 1913," the post reads.
The pages did not respond to request for comment from USA TODAY, though Occupy Democrats updated the caption of its photo to reflect other fact checks.
Trees relocated out of the garden were crabapple trees, not cherry trees
It's true that Jackie Kennedy oversaw the last major renovation of the Rose Garden, completed by designer Bunny Mellon in 1962.
The recent renovation was intended to "return it to its original ‘62 footprint," per an announcement from the White House in July.
The flowering trees visible in photos of the Rose Garden before the renovation were actually crabapple trees, not cherry trees, per the White House Historical Association. They also weren't "chopped down."
The crabapple trees have not been permanently removed from the White House. The 10 trees will be replanted elsewhere on the grounds after they are cared for offsite, per the Associated Press and C-SPAN.
Removal of some or all of the crabapple trees was first discussed in the 1980s by Mellon and first lady Nancy Regan, since the trees "had grown too large, shading out the plants below," per the White House Rose Garden Landscape Report.
Historic roses were not removed
The renovation also did not remove century-old roses.
It's true that the first Rose Garden was planted by first lady Ellen Willson in 1913. But there's no reason to believe that any of the plants from her garden, or those of other first ladies, were still alive prior to this renovation.
Marta McDowell, a landscape historian, told PolitiFact that roses are "fussy."
"They don’t last forever — plants are living things — and so sometimes they do need to be replaced," she said. "Most of these were long gone by the time the Trumps moved in."
Adrian Higgins, the gardening columnist for the Washington Post, also wrote in July that "the die-off of rose bushes to the point where only a dozen or so remained" was one of the numerous issues that was going to be addressed by the renovation.
It's difficult to know for sure how many historic bushes there were or are.
The National Park Service only started producing reports of changes in the White House Grounds and Gardens, including the roses grown and their location in the garden, in 1977, per the White House Rose Garden Landscape Report.
In her remarks at its reopening on Saturday, Melania Trump said the changes to the Rose Garden were "the result of a thoughtful and collaborative process carefully crafted with the help of scholars and experts in architecture, horticulture, design, and historic preservation."
The renovation also improved accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, claims that first lady Melania Trump removed historic cherry trees and roses in her recent renovation of the White House's Rose Garden are FALSE. The trees that were relocated were crabapple trees, and roses from previous gardens had likely already died or been replaced before the renovation.
Our fact-check sources:
- White House, July 27, First Lady Melania Trump Announces Plans to Restore and Enhance the White House Rose Garden
- White House Historical Association, President Kennedy's Rose Garden
- Associated Press, Aug. 22, Spruced-up White House Rose Garden set for first lady speech
- C-SPAN, Aug. 22, Renovated White House Rose Garden
- Committee for the Preservation of the White House, Subcommittee for Gardens and Grounds, White House Rose Garden Landscape Report
- PolitiFact, Aug. 24, No, Melania Trump didn’t remove roses from every first lady since 1913
- Washington Post, July 28, Melania Trump’s Rose Garden redo draws criticism, but it’s long overdue
- White House, Aug. 22, Readout from the Reopening of the White House Rose Garden
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