Improving The Health Of Our Trees

« Back to Home

Three Things To Watch Out For After Having A Stump Removed

Posted on

If you're removing a tree from your yard and are planning to have the stump removed, you're making the right choice. Having a piece of rotting wood taking up space in your yard is not a good idea, and removing the stump lets you reuse the land as you see fit. However, it's not as simple as removing the wood and adding more soil. Here are three things you need to look out for after you have a stump removed.

Sinkholes

Once the stump is either pulled out or ground out, you're going to be left with a hole that you have to fill. Sometimes the stump is ground up and the dust placed back in the hole, and other times the hole is just filled in with topsoil. However, that's not the end of it. Over time, the dust will decompose and the soil will settle, creating a mini-sinkhole in your yard (while the term sinkhole is popularly used for those pits that form in limestone, it can also be used for depressions formed when soil settles). That hole can be a trip hazard, and it can ruin any plantings that you try to put in. When you fill in the hole from the stump, don't plant anything there for a while -- maybe a season or so -- until the soil has a chance to drop and you can fill the area in with more soil.

Suckers

Some trees are tenacious and will aggressively resprout from bits of root left behind. This is a risk whenever you remove a stump, though some trees are more likely to try this than others. You have to be sure all of the stump is removed so that no bits are left to send up suckers or sprouts, which can grow into a new tree. If you do see suckers or seedlings, call a tree service back in to remove them.

Soil Quality

You have to consider soil quality from two angles before you replant anything. One angle is that the items you want to plant may have different nutritional requirements than what the tree wanted, so the soil won't be up to the quality you want. The other angle is that the soil may already be poor, and possibly diseased, if you removed the tree due to an infection. Instead of planting directly on the site, remove old soil or work in compost and new topsoil over a season or two to get the soil in shape. Place container plants in the area for the time being if you really want greenery there.

If you have any other questions about tree stumps and planting after the stumps are gone, talk to the tree service that's taking out the stump. They know what risks are inherent in planting new items on the site and should be able to give you pointers.

To learn more, contact a service like Brown's Tree Service.


Share