What happens to tree roots after a tree is removed?

Cutting down a loved tree is a hard decision, but sometimes an essential one. When a tree becomes a trouble or a safety hazard, whether due to its falling fruit, fragile wood, or disease, the best choice may be to cut it down. After a tree removal job, you may be speculating what happens to the tree’s roots after the tree is cut down. What about the stump?

Always consult a proficiently trained arborist to inspect your trees for damage and to help you decide the best solution for your landscape.

• What happens to a tree’s roots after it’s cut down?
• Does a tree stump and its roots need to be removed?
  • 1. Tree stumps can be hazardous
  • 2. Tree stumps can ruin your aesthetic
  • 3. Tree stumps can give access to pests and insects

What happens to a tree’s roots after it’s cut down?

Once a tree is cut down, the trunk is broken off into mulch and hauled away or cut into smaller logs or blocks for extra purposes, but the roots stay in the ground. Without leaves, the cut tree cannot make food for the growth of its roots. However, the roots might have sufficient nutrients left to allow the development of sprouts from the roots or the leftover stump. If a sprout grows enough leaves, it can eventually grow back into a tree. If a tree doesn’t create root sprouts, then it’s doubtful it’ll re-grow. Instead, the roots will ultimately decompose.

Once your tree is cut down, you are left with the tree base. Now you have to make one more important decision—let it settle or get it removed.

Does a tree stump and its roots need to be removed?

It’s up to you whether to remove a tree stump from your yard or not. There are many reasons why it could benefit your landscape and property.  Here are three things to think about when you make this decision:

1. Tree stumps can be hazardous

Stumps sticking out of the ground can spree children running around in your backyard, causing injury. Furthermore, yard work becomes harder, as you have to maintain the area around the stump, and avoid tree stumps and root areas while mowing your grass. If you don’t, you run the danger of ruining your lawnmower by running them over.

2. Tree stumps can ruin your aesthetic

Tree stumps scattered around a well-manicured lawn stand out like sore thumbs, ruining the aesthetic of your scenery. The aesthetic of your land, in turn, has a result on its real-estate value. A large number of tree stumps could force your property value down. Besides that, tree stumps take up a lot of valuable space in your yard. This space could be re-purposed into an outdoor porch or a space to entertain guests and hold family picnics.

3. Tree stumps can give access to pests and insects

Tree stumps are breathing systems that can be host to several pests and insects. During the long decomposition procedure stumps go through, they encourage insects like ants, termites, and beetles. These pests can increase to other plants in your lawn, or even your house, if not restricted properly.

If you have questions about tree removal in your yard, contact Sexy Trees, certified arborist.

Sometimes tree removal is the only viable solution to maintaining the health and safety of a yard or other outdoor space. Once the tree is removed, the stump and the connecting roots underground are left behind, which can be a significant problem and one has to consider how to remove roots after tree removal.

Typically, tree removal involves clearing up the surrounding space, identifying the best way to fall the tree, and then using the appropriate equipment and technique to cutting it down to its stump.

Left behind stumps are a nuisance and should be removed immediately for the following reasons:

• The stump can be a tripping hazard with the potential to cause serious injury.
• The presence of the stump can hurt the overall aesthetics of the landscape.
• Sometimes, the roots connected to the stump continue to grow after the tree removal and may end up wrapping around pipelines, lifting patios, or even damaging the foundation of the house.
• A new tree might grow around the stump left behind, which might be harder to remove than the original one as shoots keep returning. These new growths can often suck up essential moisture from the soil adversely hurting the health of the landscape.
• The stump and the roots will rot over time and become a breeding ground for many pests, which can spread to other healthy plants, and even find their way indoors.

Stump Grinding

Due to all of the aforementioned reasons, it is important to get rid of the stump and roots once the tree has been removed.

One popular method of getting rid of the stump is known as stump grinding. It involves the use of a powerful machine, known as a stump grinder that grinds the stump into tiny wooden chips.

Stump grinding offers numerous benefits, which include being quick and non-invasive, being cheaper than full stump removal and offering nutrient-rich mulch that can be used to improve the health of the soil.

How To Remove Roots After Tree Removal and Stump Grinding

Being non-invasive, stump grinding does not actively remove the underground roots. Once the stump is ground out, the roots die and decay, becoming part of the soil. As a precaution, the roots connected to the base of the stump are often severed using shears to ensure there is no regrowth. This natural process is a time-consuming one with roots sometimes taking up to 10 years to decay completely.

Hiring a tree service pro like Hidden Oak Tree Care can immediately solve your tree and root removal needs. However if you have more time, there are several other options available for getting rid of roots after stump grinding:

• Dig Out The Roots: Have your stump grinder go a little deeper into the ground when grinding the stump. Once the stump is ground 6 to 8 inches into the ground, it becomes much easier to simply dig and pull out the roots, getting rid of them completely. This is one of the most comprehensive means of getting rid of roots and the associated problems with continued root growth.
• Chemical Herbicides: Another method that can be used is to treat the left-behind roots after stump grinding with powerful chemical herbicides found in stores. These powerful chemical agents work effectively to kill the roots quickly, which can then decay and become part of the soil. We don’t recommend the use of chemicals, however, because they can leach into other areas of your yard and harm your plants, and potentially your animals.
• Epsom Salts: If you are avoiding chemicals, then you can use the more natural route of using Epsom salt or any other concentrated form of salt to kill the roots. While it will require several applications over a few months and will be slower than its chemical counterpart, Epsom salt will be equally effective in killing the roots.

Stump grinding is the best way to get rid of the underlying roots of any removed tree. It is also the best way to get rid of the stump’s roots and certainly beats waiting for the roots to naturally decay.

If you are unsure of which method to use for your particular situation, it is always a good idea to seek the opinion of the professionals at Hidden Oak Tree Care. We can advise how to remove roots after tree removal and will handle the full project to your satisfaction.