TREE STUMP REMOVAL & GRINDING

When a tree is cut down and removed it leaves a section sticking out of the ground that’s still attached to the tree roots, it is called a tree stump. Depending on who removed the tree the stump may stand a few inches to a couple of feet above the grade. All trees leave a stump when cut down as the chainsaw cannot be used to cut too close or under the grade of your soil. Even attempting to cut a tree down below or at the soil level will dull the chainsaw teeth and cause it to stop or cause serious injuries. When stumps are ground away the goal is to remove all visible evidence of it from the surface and a few inches below the soil grade. Stumps are incredibly strong, and the roots can go 30 feet out into the soil. To remove the stump the best method is stump grinding. Stump grinders are large machines that shred the stump into mulch. They typically remove the stump at least 2 to 4 inches below the grade of your soil. Once the stump grinding is complete there is usually some debris that is soil mixed with wood shavings. This makes for great mulch and can be left where the tree stump was. In many cases, it’s a good idea to keep a good portion of the mulch to compensate for any settling that occurs. In fact, due to the fact that the debris is shredded as it is removed, it will likely settle a great deal over time and the majority of it should be left where the tree was to offer a more level grade of your soil.

The primary reason that people use stump grinding is aesthetics and safety. There is a chance that a person could trip on a stump and get injured and means having to consciously avoid during lawn care. Stumps are also an eyesore that can ruin a well-manicured landscape and can attract pests including termites. For property owners that want to have a perfectly level inviting yard, it’s best to use stump removal, grade the soil, and plant grass or flower beds. If your plan is to replace a tree that’s been cut down it is a best practice to choose a spot near, but not exactly where the old tree was. You’d need at least a few feet to offer the new tree the space and minerals from the soil that it needs. Aside from keeping your landscaping looking great and avoiding injuries stump grinding isn’t absolutely necessary.

Stump grinding costs about $40 to $400 for the largest stumps. The average stump grinding cost in Arizona is about $200. Apart from the diameter, there are other factors that affect the cost of stump grinding including how hard it will be to get equipment to the stump, how hard the wood is, and if there is a limited amount of room to work. On properties that have swimming pools, concrete or stone pavers, or fragile structures near the area where stump grinding is needed, extra precautions are taken to preserve the condition of your property. In some cases, tree stumps are so minuscule that they can be removed with simple hand tools and some labor.

After the tree and the stump have been removed the roots will die and decay. This will cause some settling around where the tree was located. How quickly this happens depends on the type of tree and the quality of the soil on your property. Most trees have an incredibly extensive subterranean root system that spread out underground. Removing the roots is impractical and would be incredibly expensive for the majority of tree species as they typically spread out more than 1.5 times the height of the tree. That means when you have a tree anywhere near your property line, your roots likely run underground onto your neighbor’s property. Most of the biggest roots run within the first 12 inches of soil surrounding the tree. You will find some roots that are visible at the soil surface of just below your grass. For large roots that run a couple of feet from where the stump is it is also a good practice to grind them up to leave your soil ready for another purpose. They can be hard to do lawn mowing around and leave a trip hazard on your property.

In the case of palm trees, the root is much different and is more like a root ball instead of an extensive network of roots. A palm tree’s root ball isn’t much wider than the section above ground and can be removed. Some trees such as the Sissoo Tree might try to grow again from remaining root systems. They will likely shoot up a sucker growth from the root system for a number of months or even years after the tree has been removed. As property owners see these unwanted tree starts they will need to be removed using a lawnmower, weed whacker, or a hand tool depending on where they shoot up. After time the roots will stop trying to produce another tree.