the.com/saplings
Trees still in their awkward teenage phase, bending but rarely breaking.
means Young, slender trees past the seedling stage but not yet grown into woody adulthood.
from From Middle English 'sapling' — a young tree literally full of sap, the lifeblood that powers fast growth.
Flexible strengthBend in storms that snap rigid elders.
Sap definedThat juice gives them their very name.
Forest futureEach one is a canopy waiting decades.