Photo by A B Pan

It was a sad day for the National Christmas Tree yesterday. The Post reports that the 28-foot-tall Colorado spruce died and had to be cut down Saturday morning after being in the Ellipse, just south of the White House, for only a year.

Cause of the death: “transplant shock.”

The tree was brought to D.C. from New Jersey after its predecessor was knocked down by high winds on March 2011. A new tree has already been picked and will be planted in the fall in time for the holidays.