What to Do With a Tree Stump
Once a tree has come down, you’re left with the stump. You can leave it, dig it out, grind it out, or try to rot it away. Each has its place, and the right answer depends on what you want to do with that bit of garden next.
Your Options at a Glance
- Grinding it out: the quickest and tidiest option for most gardens. The stump is gone below ground the same day.
- Digging it out: fine for small stumps, but hard work, and it leaves a large hole and a lot of disturbed soil.
- Leaving it: free, and good for wildlife, but it can take many years to rot and some trees keep sprouting.
- Stump-killer products: slow, and they don’t remove anything. You’re still left with a stump.
Stump Grinding
A stump grinder chips the stump away into small wood chips. We grind the whole stump out, taking it to around 300mm below ground level along with the surface roots, so the area can be turfed, planted or covered over.
The deeper roots stay in the ground and rot away naturally. Our main grinder is 63cm wide, so it can get through most side gates and passages, and if it’s tight, taking the gate off its hinges usually sorts it.
More detail on access, what happens to the chippings and what to expect is on our stump grinding page.
Digging a Stump Out
Small stumps from shrubs and young trees can be dug out with a spade, a mattock and some patience. Bigger stumps are a different matter: the roots spread wide, and you can end up digging a hole much bigger than you bargained for, with a lot of soil to deal with afterwards.
Take care near walls, paths, drains and buried cables, which are often closer than you think.
Leaving It to Rot
A stump left in the ground does eventually rot away, but a big one can take many years. In the meantime it can be a trip hazard and get in the way of mowing.
There are good reasons to leave one, though. Rotting wood is valuable for wildlife, including stag beetles, and a low stump can make a good base for a planter or a log pile. If a stump is out of the way, leaving it is a perfectly sensible choice.
Will It Grow Back?
Some trees keep trying. Cherry, poplar, lilac and false acacia in particular send up suckers from their roots, and many broadleaved trees sprout from a cut stump. Most conifers, including leylandii, don’t regrow once they’re cut down.
Grinding removes the stump and surface roots, which stops most regrowth. For trees that sucker strongly, any new shoots that appear afterwards need cutting off as they come up until the roots run out of energy.
Stumps and Honey Fungus
Dead stumps and roots can become a food source for honey fungus, which can spread through the soil to attack living trees and shrubs nearby. If you’ve had honey fungus in the garden, or the tree came down because of it, removing the stump and as much root as you can is the best defence.
Our honey fungus page explains the signs and what to do.
Replanting Where a Stump Was
After grinding, the hole is backfilled with the wood chips and levelled, ready for turf or seed. If you want to replant in the same spot, clear out as many chips as you can and fill with good topsoil, as fresh wood chips take nutrients from the soil as they break down. It’s often easier to plant the new tree a little to one side.
Want It Gone?
We grind stumps of all sizes, from a single small stump to a row of old hedge stumps, either as part of a tree removal or as a job on its own. If it’s tucked out of the way and you’d be happy leaving it, we’ll say so.
Ring 07522 167 197, or send us a photo of the stump on WhatsApp. Pop something next to it for scale, and add a photo of the narrowest gap we’d need to get through.
Tree Stumps: Common Questions
How deep does stump grinding go?
We grind to around 300mm below ground level, along with the surface roots. That’s deep enough to turf, seed or lay a path over.
Will the roots rot after grinding?
Yes. The deeper roots stay in the ground and break down naturally over time.
Can you get a stump grinder into my back garden?
Usually. Our main grinder is 63cm wide, so a gap of around 70cm is comfortable. Send us a photo of the narrowest point and we’ll tell you.
Do stump killers work?
They can stop a stump sprouting, but they don’t make it disappear. You’re still left with a stump that takes years to rot. If you want the space back, grinding is quicker.
What happens to the wood chips?
The hole is backfilled with the grindings and compacted, leaving a level area you can turf or seed. Any surplus makes good mulch on beds, kept away from stems.