Why Do We Plant Trees When Someone Dies?

After a death, many families plant a tree. It is a quiet act with deep roots. This article describes what researchers and other sources say about the custom. Meanings differ by culture and by person.

Is planting trees for the dead an old custom?

Yes, in many places. A 2017 article in the Journal of Ethnobiology says planting trees to mark the passing of events and people is a long-standing tradition around the world. It says trees that are long-lived, large, or that regrow from cut stumps have traditionally symbolized the continuation of life after death and a way to keep a connection to the dead.

What do particular trees mean?

It depends on the culture. The same article says that in the Celtic region, the European yew is regarded as one of the most powerful symbols of resurrection and eternal life, because it seems able to come back to life after dying. It adds that the cypress, which does not regrow from the stump, is a symbol of death. In Germany, it says, heroes’ groves featured one oak tree for every fallen soldier. See Why Is the Tree a Symbol of Life?.

What are some well-known memorial trees?

Several. A Canadian newspaper notes that Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, has had trees dedicated to people who risked their lives to rescue Jews since 1962. It also says Hiroshima sends saplings from trees that survived the 1945 atomic bomb across Japan and the world as a symbol of peace, and describes a row of elms planted on Arbor Day 1923 at a Manitoba college for students and staff who died in the war. A memorial tree program’s brochure says that planting memorial trees can be traced to the 1800s, including President Andrew Jackson’s magnolia for his late wife, a claim from a company that sells memorial trees.

What do bereaved people say now?

Their reasons vary a great deal. A Radboud University thesis says trees are increasingly part of meaning-making in Dutch funeral and memorial culture, and that memorial trees are offered by memorial forests, natural burial grounds, and arborists. An Aalto University thesis on memorial trees at burial sites in Finland found very diverse meanings for those who remember the dead and for the dying.

Is there anything to know before planting?

Think about where, and who will care for it. Rules differ for cemeteries, parks, and private land, so ask first. For options and ideas, see Memorial Trees and Memorial Projects and Memorial Benches, Trees, and Gardens.