The White Tree of Gondor is heralded in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a symbol of hope and life renewed. It signals the return of the king, to bring peace and prosperity to the people of Gondor who have long suffered under the failing rule of Denethor and the Stewards. At the time of the War of the Ring, the ancient tree that stands in the courtyard is withered and dying, and is crumbling just like the once marvelous and noble city itself.
The throne has been empty for so long that the people of Gondor have passed beyond the belief that a ruler will ever come back. The concept of the true king has passed into myth and legend, until Aragorn produces the reforged blade that was broken, and demonstrates his ancient healing powers by bringing Dernhelm, the rider of Rohan, and Merry who used his sword to defeat the Witch king, back from the brink of darkness.
Beyond this point, the rumors start to spread that one has returned who is descended from the line of Isildur, and Aragorn is therefore able to reclaim his position as king. In Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations, this brings about a healing of the White Tree, which comes back to life and begins to flower once more, which it has not done since the line of kings was sundered from their rule. The audience can spot the very same tree in the courtyard at Aragorn’s coronation, when the crown is taken from its Lebethron box and placed upon his head, and in the background a flower blooms upon the White Tree’s branches. However, this isn’t strictly true in the books, but what actually happens to the tree was left out of the films in order to give a more magical and alluring version to the audience.
According to the books, the White Tree of Gondor is dead, and by dead, Tolkien means beyond any repair or salvation. What isn’t shown in the films is that the tree is actually ripped out, and replaced with another one. Although it does bear the same symbolism, for it is true that the White tree cannot bloom or bear fruit until the right king is in Gondor once more, it is actually a sapling of the ancient lines of the two trees of Valinor that is re-planted where the old white tree used to stand in the courtyard.
The sapling has "lain hidden in the mountains, even as the race of Elendil lay hidden in the wastes of the North." Gandalf leads Aragorn up into this mountain, and takes him to the place where his forefathers essentially failed, but where the seed had lain long dormant in the hopes that it would one day grow strong and tall again and continue its own line from the ancient Nimloth.
Once they have found the new growth, ‘The withered tree was uprooted, but with reverence; and they did not burn it, but laid it to rest in the silence of Rath Dinen.’ So, the tree was buried, with high honour, but buried nonetheless. Rath Dinen is the house of the dead where Denethor tries to burn Faramir alive, and where he is later laid to rest himself, so it is a noble end to the old tree that never again could bloom or bear fruit. Instead, ‘Aragorn planted the new tree in the court by the fountain, and swiftly and gladly it began to grow, and when the month of June entered it was laden with blossom.’ It is not the only tree that is planted and grows tall and strong within the citadel of Minas Tirith, for Legolas and Gimli help to rebuild the white city, filling it with beautiful growing things from the elven realms, and strong dwarven stonework from under the mountains.
Thus, the new tree becomes the sign of a new Age of Men, when none shall have to live in fear with Aragorn on the throne of Gondor, and Eomer on the Throne of Rohan. It is unclear why Jackson decided not to reveal the old tree’s true fate, perhaps it simply didn’t fit within the timing, or perhaps it would have been too difficult to film. Either way, fans who have read the books may mourn the death of the old white tree, knowing that it was not only the great evil of Sauron that passed out of the world, but also some things that were pure and beautiful, and should not have shared in this cruel end. But at least readers know that it was treated with great care until the end, and its line was born again in the new sapling who took its place.