Removal of leylandii stumps

RedXIV

Hi folks,

Looking for advice here as I'm not great at gardening but I've recently had to move into the parents house while awaiting a house sale to finish and thought I'd do some jobs for the auld lad while I'm here. He recently had the leylandii bushes surrounding his house removed and there are stumps every 5 or 6 feet that stick maybe 2 or 3 inches out of the ground. He was hacking at them trying to get them out and I'll do the same if there is no better suggestions but if anyone has any advice on how best to do this, I'd appreciate the dummies guide :)

Got a pretty substantial shed of tools to work with so feeling like I SHOULD be able to find whatever folks advise me on.

Cheers!

magicbastarder

you could get someone to bring in a stump grinder and grind them out.

RedXIV

Didn't know that was a thing! Will look into it, appreciate the insight!

standardg60

Just leave them, they'll rot away on their own

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120997660#Comment_120997660

It can take decades though.

enfant terrible

Think I read copper nails do the job over time or could use

Resolva Xtra Tough Tree Stump Killer Sachets, 2 x 100 ml https://amzn.eu/d/9YK5VgE

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120997674#Comment_120997674

Those kill the stumps but don't cause them to vanish; they will rot but slowly.

I got someone with a stump grinder to take three willow stumps down to the ground level for me, cost 100 but that was a good few years ago. Wouldn't have rented it for a day at that price, let alone the time/effort/fuel needed.

alias no.9

Had similar in my garden but cut right down to the ground. I ignored them for a long time but in the end two Jack Russell pups took care of them, literally dug them all up. Stopping them digging everywhere else is a challenge but they've mostly grown out of it, putting some of their poo in a hole as soon as they start it tends to work.

macraignil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120997660#Comment_120997660

My preferred option as well. Lots of wild life will benefit from the natural processes of decay in dead tree stumps in your garden.

If you don't have the patience to let them decay in the most environmentally friendly way then I've read just drilling some holes down in to the stump and adding caustic soda helps speed up the process as one of the options on this information page outlines.

Happy gardening!

magicbastarder

why would caustic soda speed up decomposition? i'd have assumed it'd slow it down; or is there another process in action?

just regarding the idea of letting them rot - i chopped down leylandii about ten years ago and left the stumps in situ. if you tried to kick one now, you'd still risk a broken toe.

macraignil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121004834#Comment_121004834

Read it in a book from years back (The complete book of Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour) and it is backed up by the internet link I provided. I guess the chemical action of the caustic soda attacks the structural molecules of the tree stump and allows the natural processes of decay with organisms like fungi and bacteria to access more tree stump to decompose it faster but not tried it myself as I am happy to leave dead material in the garden break down at its own pace and provide shelter for wildlife as it does so. People buy bug hotels made from bamboo imported from the other side of the world when they could simply drill some holes in a dead tree stump and have something better for wildife in their garden without spending anything.

dbentham

I had a well established Leylandii which became diseased (I think) and started dying gradually. I cut it to a stump about 8 inches above the soil. Fast forward 2 years to this Spring, I knocked it out easily enough with a sledgehammer. The stump came out with the roots in one piece - without much effort and I was then able to backfill the hole with some more soil.

I'm guessing that if I had've used a chemical, that I may have been able to remove it sooner. But job done anyway.

standardg60

Drilling holes in the stumps would have the simple benefit of allowing water to ingress into the stumps and speed up the rotting process I would think.

Ground conditions would matter too, the wetter the quicker the roots will rot. I've kicked stumps out after a couple of years too but obviously some will take longer. Still easier than hacking at them, let nature do the job.