If you can live with the stump while it rots, that is one approach. Rotting can be hastened by drilling many holes deep into the stump and filling them with fertilizer and water. Potassium nitrate works. This will promote bacterial and fungal growth, and the stump will rot faster than without treatment. But, you may not be ok with the extra fertilizer in your plantings. David McNeely
---- Martin Meiss <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, Scott, > Depending on the tree's rooting system, specifically whether it has a > tap root, you might be able to do most of the ax work while standing on the > stump, if the sawyers can leave you a nice flat stump about a foot high or > lower. > > I have heard that you can accelerate decomposition by boring holes > into a stump and poring in a commercially available (I don't know the > company name) mixture of decomposing organism. I have no experience with > this. > > Another thing you might consider is to use the stump as an interesting > feature in the garden. I have seen this done by placing large planters on > the stump, but you could also use a birdbath, a sculpture, a stone lantern, > or something else that would harmonize. > > Hope this helps. > > Martin M. Meiss > > 2013/1/17 Scott Creary <[email protected]> > > > Does anyone have any experience removing tree stumps from very sensitive > > areas? We have a botanically important planting around a tree that we need > > to remove for safety reasons, but we cannot leave an unsightly stump in the > > process. However, the traditional grinders or pick-axe method won't work > > as it would destroy the surrounding plantings. Does anyone know of a way > > to remove stumps or decompose them quickly such that the area is plant-able > > soon after tree removal (a year or so)? > > > > I'm going out on a limb with this, but I feel that managed areas are > > sometimes the most ecologically important, especially in a highly urban > > environment like where we are. > > > > Thanks much! > > > > > > -- > > Scott Creary, M.S. Entomology, ISA Certified Arborist > > IPM Specialist > > Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens > > www.phipps.conservatory.org > >
