Is tree stump burning a good idea?

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If you have a stubborn tree stump, it’s normal to want the quickest, least expensive way to get it. Remove it from your yard. Instead of digging it up, you might consider whether it’s a good idea to burn the stump. Is there a miraculous way to complete complex yard chores or an unnecessary risk by literally playing with fire? In this Hunker exclusive, we spoke with ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, International Society of Arboriculture Board Certified Master Arborist and owner Lisa Tedewald. Urban Forest Prof to find out. The answer is yes and no. “It’s not my first choice, but it’s a proven effective method of removing tree stumps,” says Tedewalt.

Her logic is dangerous. Stump burning doesn’t just take a few hours; It can take days or weeks of slow burning to disappear completely. You have to monitor it all the time, and even if you do everything right, things can easily get out of hand. “The biggest risk of burning tree limbs is fire-related risks, such as the fire getting out of control or rekindling once you think you’ve got it under control,” she says. “The Palisades fire in Los Angeles that destroyed hundreds of homes was a fire that was determined to be from a tree root that reignited, and that fire was extinguished by professionals, so the risk is real.” To minimize the risk, she recommends staying home for several days after burning your stump to watch for signs of shedding.

Instead of burning tree stumps, Lisa Tedewalt recommends grinding them. “Stump grinding with a stump grinder is our method of choice for stump removal,” she tells Hunker exclusively. As it sounds, the method turns the stump into sawdust. However, the technique has some drawbacks that may prevent some from making the most of it. “A small stump grinder is usually a tracked machine that weighs over a thousand pounds and is a minimum of 34″ wide,” she says. “So it can’t go up stairs or steep hills, and driving over it is likely to damage natural stone patios. There are some mini versions that weigh about 150 pounds that can be moved into place, but they’re usually only Will only work on stumps 10″ or less, and is more expensive to do this way than a traditional stump grinder.”

That said, if you have the patience and stamina, you can replicate the effects of a stump grinder. Using a chainsaw to grind the stump Instead the first cut is a horizontal one, so get the stump down as close to the ground as you can get it. From there, you can make a grid cut to remove more chip on the amount of wood present. While you can’t get rid of the stump completely, once it’s fairly low, you can cover it with dirt and plant grass seed so it blends into your lawn.

The risk of the previous two methods involves potential damage to both your property and your person. If fire or heavy machinery don’t appeal to you, there’s one more DIY method of stump removal. “The safest option for stump removal is the use of sodium to speed up the decomposition of the stump,” Lisa Tedewald told Hunker exclusively. “I have yet to find out the risk of using this method, but of course there is a downside, and that is that it can take many years to decompose a large stump.” If getting rid of your stump next week isn’t a priority, there are no other drawbacks to this method, according to Tedewald. You just need patience.

While there are plenty of products on the market to take care of stump removal in this way, Tadevalt recommends Bonoid stump-out granules The simplest of things to go. “The product works best if the herbicide is applied first to kill the stump and dry it out. Otherwise, it is recommended to wait 12 months after cutting the stump to apply the product. My recommendation is that the stump will need to be cut for at least one summer to season.” Whether you opt for a stump-out or not, always look for a product that won’t harm the plants around the stump. This information should be on the label.