Australian weather can be so volatile. One moment you're basking in the sun, and the next minute there's a ferocious thunderstorm surrounding your home. When we moved to our first property, we had a near-miss when part of a tree came down during a storm. Luckily, it missed our house, but it did flatten my gorgeous rose garden. Tree maintenance is very important in Australia, and my blog deals with all the different ways you can maintain the health of your trees. From pruning to identifying tree rot, find out how to look after your trees, so they don't come tumbling down when the winds pick up.
Considerations When Having a Tree Stump Ground in Your Garden
Once you have a tree cut down in your yard, the stump will remain, and you may wonder what to do with it. You could undergo stump grinding to get rid of it. Here are several considerations to bear in mind.
Grinding Kills the Tree
If you leave a stump in the earth, shoots can start sprouting as the tree tries to resurrect itself. Sometimes this works, and the tree will regrow despite your efforts. However, grinding the stump will prevent this from happening.
An arborist can judge how deep below the surface they should grind to kill the tree. The trunk and the large roots that feed off of it will be ground up.
Eventually, the distant roots that extend further away will decompose as they don't have a trunk to feed on for nourishment. Thus, after grinding, all parts of the tree will eventually be gone.
Grinding Provides Landscaping Options
With the stump ground into chips, you will be left with a hole in the ground, which you can fill up with the mulch from the process. You then have various landscaping options. You can plant lawns or other small garden plants. It's not wise to plant a tree as the old roots remain underground for a while until they eventually disintegrate.
Grinding Is Quick and Non-invasive
Stump grinding is relatively quick, and even a large stump can usually be ground in a matter of hours. You can alternatively have the stump and root system extracted from the earth. However, this process rips up the garden as large holes are created to get to the roots, wherever they have spread.
Stump grinding is gentler on the rest of the garden, as only a small area around the trunk is disturbed.
Problems from Leaving Stumps in the Ground
If you do nothing to the stump and leave it in place, the garden will have an unnecessary eyesore. Additionally, a stump can form a tripping hazard, depending on where it stands.
If the trunk doesn't start regrowing, it will eventually decompose, but the process can take years. In the meantime, the stump can attract termites and fungus. While these things speed up decay, they put your home in danger. The termites, for example, could move on to your house after they've devoured the stump and cause damage to vulnerable timber elements.
For more information about stump grinding, contact a local company.