If you’re removing a troublesome tree, one of the most important things you should ask your arborist to do is to grind down the stump. Leaving the stump will leave you with a major pain.
The Tree’s Revenge
If you don’t have the stump removed by grinding, it’ll sit there. Unfortunately, the stump isn’t dead. Underneath, the roots have stored enough energy to keep growing for up to three years before they finally die. If the stump’s still around, the tree’s cambium, which is the layer just underneath the bark, is still active and will try to bring the tree back to life.
Over time, you’ll start to see sucker sprouts, which are new trees shooting up on the ruins of the old one. The most likely trees to do this include willows, maples, poplars and fruit trees of all types.
How Stump Grinding Prevents Suckers
If you have your tree stump ground by professionals, many of these trees won’t have a chance to regrow. In the first place, the cambium is completely pulverized, which makes it impossible for sucker shoots to grow from the stump. Second, stump grinding can also kill most of the main root ball in many cases. This makes it a lot harder for the energy stored in the roots to travel where it’s needed.
Finally, stump grinding effectively eliminates the chance of any of those roots grabbing some sunlight. Once the ground is clear and covered by mulch or new topsoil, the roots will slowly die, and their food supplies will go to any new plants you grow in the area.
Some Trees Outwit the Stump Grinder
While stump grinding will eliminate most sucker sprouts, some more aggressive species will continue to struggle for dear life. If you have willows, black locusts, certain maples, mulberries, hybrid poplars or invasive species such as bamboo, they’ll keep going. Usually, their sucker sprouts will appear several feet away from the original tree stump.
Some tree services will suggest a full root excavation in these cases, but that’s expensive and quite an ordeal for your yard. Instead, you can just stay alert and cut down the sucker sprouts as they rise. Eventually, the roots will die. You can also use certain herbicides meant to kill the roots.
Stump grinding may not be a panacea, but it’ll keep most unwelcome trees from coming back to haunt you in the years to come. Without it, you risk sucker sprouts and floral vengeance. When you need stump grinding services in Columbia, SC, contact Gaycas Tree Services.