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Kill stump

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Higgs Boson

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Jan 29, 2010, 7:19:56 PM1/29/10
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I am having two large evergreen bushes removed. They
were standing on each side of my front walk. I intend
to put large decorative pots in their place with appropriate plants.
(Suggestions welcome -mini-climate is So. Calif coastal)

What's the fastest way to kill the stumps (approx 10-12" diameter)?

Last time I dealt with a stump, decades ago, one was supposed to
buy a chemical and introduce it via holes bored in the stump.

Gardener just told me to use gasoline.

Any information out there on (a) fastest and (b) most effective,
and maybe (c) least expensive way. (though that's not the deciding
factor ).

Persephone

des...@verizon.net

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Jan 29, 2010, 9:49:38 PM1/29/10
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Higgs Boson <hypa...@gmail.com> writes:

For B and C, dig it out.

It may not be the fastest way but it builds muscles.
Time well spent.

EVP MAN

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Jan 30, 2010, 12:57:53 AM1/30/10
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Take an auger and drill some good size holes in the stump and fill them
with rock salt. In no time the stump will rot and you can use a crow
bar and bust it up. As for using the gasoline method, maybe if you set
it on fire it would work pretty quick :) Just a thought!

Rich

David Hare-Scott

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Jan 30, 2010, 1:00:56 AM1/30/10
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Fastest is hire a bloke with a stump grinder. In half an hour they will be
turned into shavings that you can use as mulch. Stay out of the way these
are fearsome beasties.

Medium, drill the stumps and pour straight glyphosate into the holes. But
then once they are dead what will you do with the dead stumps?

Is the gasoline supposed to burn them up or poison them? I don't see it
being very effective in either mode with a thick stump.

David

George

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Jan 30, 2010, 3:02:43 AM1/30/10
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"EVP MAN" <White_...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:2623-4B63...@storefull-3171.bay.webtv.net...

That is how I am getting rid of a !!dead!! stump. Drill it & fill with salts
& let moisture do the rest. I also built a compost hap over mine to speed
deterioration. Its working fine. You could build boxing round it & fill with
mluch as a 'garden' until such time as stump is gone. The idea of a stump
grinder is by far the quickest & least fuss however.

rob

brooklyn1

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Jan 30, 2010, 10:21:35 AM1/30/10
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Higgs Boson wrote:
> I am having two large evergreen bushes removed.
> They were standing on each side of my front walk.

HAVING them removed or they WERE removed, which?

Whichever, whoever removes the bushes needs to grind the stumps too.
Depends what kind of evergreen bushes, if softwood they will decompose
relatively rapidly (5-10 years), if hardwood (cedar, cyprus, etc.)
they won't decompose for like 20-30 years or more so have them ground
deeply. Or simply dig them out.


Doug Houseman

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Jan 30, 2010, 3:52:19 PM1/30/10
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In article <hk0i5b$pk9$1...@news.albasani.net>,
"David Hare-Scott" <sec...@nospam.com> wrote:

compost start - a bacterial mixture available at many garden stores (not
big boxes) poured into 3/4 inch in diameter holes with a bit of your
favorite - liquid fertilizer added will normally start a fast rot on the
stump. Drill the holes so them run at least 3 or 4 inches below the
ground. Wait 12 to 16 weeks and us a large bar to break apart the
pieces. Works every time for me. I have over 700 pine trees on the
property and have to remove 4 or 5 stumps every year - some as big as 20
inches in diameter (They take a year to break down).

If the stumps are big enough drill your holes in an "X" pattern so it
will come apart into easy pieces. If you don't go deep enough, the top
of the remainder will be above the ground.

Gasoline and holes - only results in charing the stump, which slows
decomp.

Bill who putters

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Jan 30, 2010, 4:05:56 PM1/30/10
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I had two well established Korean hollies that were wonderful but they
happened to get the most of the rare sun here. I cut them off. Drove
in a few copper nails. Still every year I get to kill the suckers by
cutting. It has been about ten years and the sucker growth appears to
be slowing. But somehow if I am remiss the hollies will be back I�d
guess with a vengence.

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

brooklyn1

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Jan 30, 2010, 4:50:24 PM1/30/10
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On Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:05:56 -0500, Bill who putters
<b2fore...@snip.net> wrote:

> I had two well established Korean hollies that were wonderful but they
>happened to get the most of the rare sun here. I cut them off. Drove
>in a few copper nails. Still every year I get to kill the suckers by
>cutting. It has been about ten years and the sucker growth appears to
>be slowing. But somehow if I am remiss the hollies will be back I�d
>guess with a vengence.

When I moved here there were two huge hollies blocking the view at my
rear deck (over 15 feet tall and nearly as wide). I started to prune
them back but ended up cutting them down and it was no biggie to dig
up the stumps... there was no tap root and the side roots were not too
big to lop off, was just light digging, they never grew back. I would
suggest that if you remove the central root portion your hollies will
not grow back.

Phisherman

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Jan 31, 2010, 5:03:38 PM1/31/10
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One time I saw a man blast a large stump with a shotgun, so maybe
you're not alone. Have a fire permit?

sockiescat

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Feb 1, 2010, 10:34:46 PM2/1/10
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'Phisherman[_3_];876254']On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:19:56 -0800 (PST), Higgs
Boson
hypa...@gmail.com wrote:
-

I am having two large evergreen bushes removed. They
were standing on each side of my front walk. I intend
to put large decorative pots in their place with appropriate plants.
(Suggestions welcome -mini-climate is So. Calif coastal)

What's the fastest way to kill the stumps (approx 10-12" diameter)?

Last time I dealt with a stump, decades ago, one was supposed to
buy a chemical and introduce it via holes bored in the stump.

Gardener just told me to use gasoline.

Any information out there on (a) fastest and (b) most effective,
and maybe (c) least expensive way. (though that's not the deciding
factor ).

Persephone-


One time I saw a man blast a large stump with a shotgun, so maybe
you're not alone. Have a fire permit?


just a thought but it might look nice if u got the stumps cut down, put
a small bed around them, grew ivy to grow over the stumps and put your
flower pots on top of them.
cyaaaaaaaaaa, sockiescat ;).


--
sockiescat

Dave_s

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Feb 2, 2010, 8:53:18 AM2/2/10
to

Group,

Here is my experience with gasoline/oil mixture to kill an ELM tree
stump. Does not work! Please see below.

sockiescat wrote:
> 'Phisherman[_3_];876254']On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:19:56 -0800 (PST), Higgs
> Boson
> hypa...@gmail.com wrote:
> -
> I am having two large evergreen bushes removed. They
> were standing on each side of my front walk. I intend
> to put large decorative pots in their place with appropriate plants.
> (Suggestions welcome -mini-climate is So. Calif coastal)
>
> What's the fastest way to kill the stumps (approx 10-12" diameter)?
>
> Last time I dealt with a stump, decades ago, one was supposed to
> buy a chemical and introduce it via holes bored in the stump.

When the tree removal workers removed a 55 foot high ELM tree (15 inch
diameter), they cut deep grooves into the stump surface. Next they
poured chainsaw oil/gas mixture into the grooves. This gas and oil mix
did nothing to kill the tree stump. Numerous times every year, thousands
of new shoots grow from this stump. The new shoots grow from the outer
bark, not where the grooves and gas was poured. I have repeated the
gas/oil treatment quite a few times. Nothing helps.
The stump is very much alive.

Regards, Dave_S

Pavel314

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Feb 4, 2010, 9:40:40 AM2/4/10
to
On Feb 2, 8:53 am, Dave_s <grou...@dslextreme.com> wrote:
> Group,
>
> Here is my experience with gasoline/oil mixture to kill an ELM tree
> stump. Does not work! Please see below.
>
> sockiescat wrote:
> > 'Phisherman[_3_];876254']On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:19:56 -0800 (PST), Higgs
> > Boson
> > cyaaaaaaaaaa, sockiescat ;).- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Why not just set the pots on the stumps? My wife started hiding/
decorating a couple of stumps that way, then it expanded to pots on
upright logs of various heights. Illustration at:

http://home.comcast.net/~rbfarm/

Paul

Higgs Boson

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Feb 7, 2010, 11:13:26 PM2/7/10
to

Paul, somehow my reply to you didn't make it to the NG.

I had said your wife's creation was very beautiful and imaginative.
However, the two stumps I'll be dealing with are too small to
support the big pots I'll be using. (I originally said 10-12"
diameter,
but they are actually smaller).

Thanks for the suggestion; I'll keep it in mind for another area
in the future.

Dave_s

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Feb 10, 2010, 9:25:25 PM2/10/10
to
Pavel314 wrote:
>
> Why not just set the pots on the stumps? My wife started hiding/
> decorating a couple of stumps that way, then it expanded to pots on
> upright logs of various heights. Illustration at:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~rbfarm/
>
> Paul

Paul, putting pots with colorful annuals sure looks nice at your
Rainbow Farm. Thanks for your suggestions.

This stump grows new shoots so rapidly, that the annuals in a pot on
this stump would repeatedly be surrounded by tall new shoots. I'm
wondering how you keep those new shoots from growing rapidly from your
tree stumps. Do they periodically become taller than the annual plants
in the pots?

See my very actively growing ELM tree stump at

(http://s1001.photobucket.com/albums/af140/Dave_ss/Elm%20Tree%20Stump/?action=view&current=elm-Stump1-new-growth-2-2010.jpg)

and

(http://s1001.photobucket.com/albums/af140/Dave_ss/Elm%20Tree%20Stump/?action=view&current=elm-Stump2-new-growth-2-2010.jpg)

This tree, removed 2 years ago, was 55 feet tall with an 14inch
diameter trunk. The stump looks like it will live forever.

Dave_S

Pavel314

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Feb 11, 2010, 1:50:02 PM2/11/10
to
On Feb 10, 9:25 pm, Dave_s <grou...@dslextreme.com> wrote:
> Pavel314 wrote:
>
> > Why not just set the pots on the stumps? My wife started hiding/
> > decorating a couple of stumps that way, then it expanded to pots on
> > upright logs of various heights. Illustration at:
>
> >http://home.comcast.net/~rbfarm/
>
> > Paul
>
>         Paul, putting pots with colorful annuals sure looks nice at your
> Rainbow Farm. Thanks for your suggestions.
>
> This stump grows new shoots so rapidly, that the annuals in a pot on
> this stump would repeatedly be surrounded by tall new shoots.  I'm
> wondering how you keep those new shoots from growing rapidly from your
> tree stumps. Do they periodically become taller than the annual plants
> in the pots?
>
>         See my very actively growing ELM tree stump at
>
> (http://s1001.photobucket.com/albums/af140/Dave_ss/Elm%20Tree%20Stump/...)
>
> and
>
> (http://s1001.photobucket.com/albums/af140/Dave_ss/Elm%20Tree%20Stump/...)

>
> This tree, removed 2 years ago,  was 55 feet tall with an 14inch
> diameter trunk. The stump looks like it will live forever.
>
> Dave_S

The three original stumps we had were from an oak, a sweetgum and a
hickory, which grew within a couple of yards from each other. As I
recall, they put out shoots for a while but we just cut them off until
they gave up. Maybe elms are more persistant. A few ideas spring to
mind, none of which I've actually tried: 1, make a solution of copper
sulphate and pour it on the top of the stump every few days to kill
it; 2, remove all the bark from the stump; 3, put rock salt around the
stump.

Paul

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