A Short Post on Stumps

You know what you know, when it comes to stumps. At Ascents Tree, our climbers are able to tackle the largest, most complex, and most difficult tight-space rigging. We access and maneuver through the tree via ropes and fancy footwork, and have removed trees up to 50" Diameter-at-Breast-Height.

Bird's eye view of my trust Carlton SP2000 Stump Grinder. Love the machine- you really learn to lean into it!

Stump Grinding, however, is a bit of a limiting reagent for us.

We love doing stumps. It's very satisfying, standing behind the machine, leaning into it, sweeping side-to-side as we reduce the problem stump into wood chips and soil. Here are a couple of things to consider, though, when having your stump removed.

1) How big is the stump? The size of the stump is perhaps the most important factor in sizing a stump, and at Ascents Tree anything larger than about 24 inches at the root crown is beyond our capacity to grind, and we will recommend a professional stump grinding company. There are those, and they generally do an excellent job with their heavy iron.

2) How soft is the stump? Is the stump dead and rotting, or is it a fresh, large diameter conifer. I find my machine can smash through hardwoods pretty well, but the root plate of conifers really absorbs the impact of those rotating carbide teeth, and it just takes awhile. A rotted stump will generally be a little cheaper- the are easier and quicker to grind.

3) Did your contractor get locates? Seriously- do you see the gas lines painted on the grass, or does he have proof that the locates were requested (and the clearance given). In parts of LaSalle and Windsor, some old gas lines have migrated up nearly to the surface. Sometimes, the lines can be only 8-12 inches below the surface. Make sure locates are done, and if a hand dig is required, make sure the lines are exposed.

4) What about flying debris? Site cleanliness before firing up the stumper is important. We will clear away ANY and ALL rocks around the stump to prevent the chance of them being hurled at the operator (or a window) during the stump grinding. We set up a soft, heavy duty screen that would catch any errant projectiles. Plus, we have insurance. Also, very important.

5) What about cleanup? Well, stump grinding is a pretty impact-ful job. Small wood chips accumulate, and the soil medium after grinding is generally a light, loamy soil with wood chips. This is great, hi-nutrient potential soil that only needs to settle and decompose and you have an excellent place to plant new shrubs. We haul a lot away, but leave a small mound of soil/chips that will usually settle to grade after a bit of rain, and a bit of time. One thing to avoid, however, is planting a new tree (and especially a new tree of the same species) in an old stump hole. Any disease or fungus that may have contributed to the decline of the previous tree could still be present, and either inhibit or altogether destroy the your spankin' new sapling.

This is a beautiful soil mixture of dirt and wood chips after removing two sketchy, uprooted (and angling over power lines) conifers last week.

So, yeah, a short post on stump grinding. We do it, within a reasonable diameter. We do it safely, conscientiously, and with locates and insurance. We get the ground as clean as we can with a blower and a bit of raking, and when we're finished you have a nice medium for new planting.