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Shrub stumps urgently need lifting or rotting

T

tracerman

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People - following Her Indoors on-going gardening frenzy , we have two different shrub stumps needing removal . I might go out tomorrow and buy a wrecking-bar of a decent length , but does anybody know of a substance which could rot them away quite quickly ? . Both of the beasts are almost three inches dia. , and still green , so the toy ( 1800 watt) chainsaw I bought last week isn't making much of an impression .

Any help appreciated .
Steve
 
I do not think there is anything that can make them disappear quickly. I used two methods in our garden to "remove" stumps.
Method one just cut them as flush as possible with the ground then wack a mattock or maul into the flat top surface of the stump to leave as many cut marks as possible and leave nature to take its course. A sycamore treated this way has just about vanished after about 6 years but so long as I could run the mower over it this was not a problem.

method two dig around stump as much as possible then light a fire. As big as possible around 5th Nov. this worked well on an ornamental cherry and some kind of maple IIRC.
 
I've heard of folks drilling holes into them, then pouring diesel into them.
Probably stops it sprouting again rather than dissolving anything.
Did you mean 3", that doesn't sound very large, cannot you plant around it?

Rod
 
See if you can borrow or even buy a long handled fencing spade. http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Professi ... l/p/199088. .take a grinder to the digging edge and give it a sharpen, a 3 inch stump won't take a lot of digging out, the long handled spade is excellent as you can throw it into the ground with a lot of force to cut through the roots, just work your way round the root then use the length of the spade to pry the stump loose.
 
There used to be a product called Root Out which contained the active ingredient Ammonium sulphamate (NOT SULPHATE)

Our dear colleagues in the EU chose to ban this but also allowed it to be sold an a compost accelerator.

So this can still be readily bought (ebay is favourite) and in some cases you might even find the instructions still include the root out application too.
I cut off as close to the ground as practical, drill down into the stumps and fill the holes with ammonium sulphamate crystals to within 1/2" of the top. Then I seal in with molten paraffin wax and let the rot start.

Incidentally, a cocktail of this plus gylphosate is an effective killer for Ivy and brambles since the old favourite brushwood killer, SBK was neutered by the EU.

hth

Bob
 
I borrowed a winch to pull out some shrubs that size. Looped one end around a considerably larger tree. The shrubs came out easily with no back hurting.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
Tusses":2qsruwi4 said:
similar to the winch method, I was going to suggest a tow rope, if you can get vehicle access near enough to it
Click to expand...

That's what I do, dig around it to severe as many roots as you can get at, then attach a chain, this may have to go under the ground among the roots to get a decent grip, then heave-ho with the old 4x4. 150BHP and 1st gear in low ratio has pulled 10" dia tree stumps. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
 
My brother suggested Semtex but they are both too close to the fence . I went to Machine Mart this morning , like we do , and they had the 48" crowbars and wrecking bars on display but nothing longer . When I said I had seen a five-foot version on their website they went looking and the guy came back with the 5 footer , but also a six foot beast called the Spear & Jackson fencing bar , same price £29.99 . I opted for the six footer as although its very heavy to handle , it would have momentum in " stabbing " mode . Its a big chisel one end and a flat round tamping bit on the top . Used it as a lever and a chisel and got the first stump up in 30 minutes although my arthritic wrists are suffering . I might leave the second stump until tomorrow due to arthritis and disinterest .
 
9fingers":3and0k2s said:
.....
So this can still be readily bought (ebay is favourite) and in some cases you might even find the instructions still include the root out application too.
I cut off as close to the ground as practical, drill down into the stumps and fill the holes with ammonium sulphamate crystals to within 1/2" of the top. Then I seal in with molten paraffin wax and let the rot start.
.....
Bob
Click to expand...

Good tip, thanks, Bob. Roughly how many holes do you drill and in what size stump ? How deep ? And how long does it take ? We've got quite a few and I was going down the diesel root but this might be quicker.
 
Rod":1gzefgin said:
Dig around the base, cut through the roots and use a long thick piece of wood as a lever.

Rod
Click to expand...
I use a old scaffolding pole around 10' long. Dig around the roots, chop through them and start to lever out the stump. A good work out :D - Rob
 
Woodbloke":3fuuxjpb said:
Rod":3fuuxjpb said:
Dig around the base, cut through the roots and use a long thick piece of wood as a lever.

Rod
Click to expand...
I use a old scaffolding pole around 10' long. Dig around the roots, chop through them and start to lever out the stump. A good work out :D - Rob
Click to expand...

I dug out a fairly small conifer in May. Did something to my elbow not been the same since. :|
 
Taken about four years ago when I was clearing the bottom of the garden. The conifer here was about 20' tall and left a bloody great hole about 4' dia.

36013593852_c151bcd555_k.jpg


Mattock, crowbar, hand axe and scaffold pole all used to extract this stumpage. Where I'm now standing is the lower terrace upon which is now the greenhouse - Rob
 
There's some right rufty tufty blokes on the forum, and no mistake!
 
RogerS":1rq9xnjt said:
I had one of these on-site :D

Mini-8018-2-e1441206504626.jpg


Easy-peasy.
Click to expand...
I couldn't get one of they beasties into my garden 'cos of restricted access, so I had to do it the 'old skool' way - Rob
 
Not only are they reliable, but Hilux's are also virtually indestructible as JC proved on Top Gear.

N. B. With regard to the second commercial, the only thing that I found difficult to beleive was that someone could enjoy the NZ steak and cheese pasty :D
 
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