Two men have been charged in connection with the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree.
Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, have been charged with causing criminal damage after the tree was cut down last September.
They have both also been charged with causing criminal damage to Hadrian’s Wall and are due to appear at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on 15 May.
There was a national outcry in September when the much-loved, 200-year-old Northumberland tree, which stood in a dramatic dip on Hadrian’s Wall, was found to have been cut down.
Northumbria Police made a number of arrests in the wake of the felling of the tree, which happened overnight on 27 and 28 September. A teenager and man in his 60s were later both told that they will face no further action.
Teams from the National Trust collected material at the scene from which they hoped could be “viable for propagating” – or to produce new saplings and trees directly from the Sycamore Gap.
Officials said they are also “hoping” the trunk of the original tree could still regrow – but it could be three years before they know whether this is a possibility.
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Seeds collected from the Sycamore Gap tree after it was felled last year are beginning to spring into life.
Experts have used a range of techniques to cultivate the material, including ‘budding’, where a single bud from the original tree is attached to a rootstock of the same species, and two forms of grafting – ‘whip and tongue’ and ‘apical wedge’ grafting – where a cutting from the tree and a rootstock are joined by corresponding cuts in the material.
These processes are designed to create genetically identical replicas of the original Sycamore Gap tree.
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Several dozen seeds have been grown in a special peat-free compost mix after they were washed and checked for disease.
Andrew Jasper, director of gardens and parklands at the National Trust, said: “These techniques, delivered with a remarkable degree of care and precision by our conservationists, are providing a legacy for this much-loved tree.
“And while there’s a way to go before we have true saplings, we’ll be keeping everything crossed that these plants continue to grow stronger and can be planted out and enjoyed by many in the future.
“The response to the Sycamore Gap tree’s felling has been extraordinary, and we hope that by continuing to share its story, we can raise awareness of the cultural and natural significance of these majestic trees that we’re so lucky to have in the UK.”
