18 inches of stump is not really enough to use as a lever to get it out of the ground. You need at least twice that. Believe me I know, I am in the middle of removing an 80 feet length of Leylandii hedge (12 foot high too!). The stumps have to come out as they are in the way of the new fence posts.
Remember too that once it is out there will be a dip in the soil level and the soil round it will be low in nutrients.
I agree with @Palustris. Waist height is better for getting a hold on a stump and wiggling t back and forth. Did it that way with a 40' row of conifers taller than out house which had been planted as a hedge and then left.
That was nearly 40 years ago when I was younger and fitter so good luck with yours @Palustris. You'll have so much more light when they're gone.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I've cut down about 8 huge leylandii at the end of my garden over the past 5 years. I've never taken the roots out and they've never given me any trouble, over time they just disintegrate. I've planted loads of things in the space created including roses, clems, shrubs and perennials. The garden looks so much better now they have gone. I wish I had done it as soon as I moved in 10 years ago.
Biggest problem is what to do with the brash. The re-cycling yard is closed so I am having to shred the thing stuff and spread it out on an unused (yet) part of the garden.
No idea, really! I want to take advantage of the fact that I actually have soil on this side of the house and it's relatively sunny in this spot and plant some "ornamental" vegetables but mix it up with other plants. There are too many shrubs though. I want to get rid of some of them but I've also toyed with the idea of trying to train one of them (perhaps the fuschia?) into a small tree shape. I had a neighbor who did this with a buddleia and although I am not that fond of buddleia it looked quite cute.
The other thing though is that one reason why it's such a disaster is that in normal times I work away from home a lot so I'm not always around to maintain it. So I don't want a lawn or anything that needs a lot of attention. I like wild looking old fashioned cottage gardens and I am not averse to sometimes allowing weeds that I like to grow a bit for the benefit of insects etc. But I'm also tired of it being such a boring mess.
Alas I think I'll just have to cut it up small and put it in the regular bin as they've stopped collecting green waste here. At least I don't generate much trash on a regular basis so there's plenty of room!
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That was nearly 40 years ago when I was younger and fitter so good luck with yours @Palustris. You'll have so much more light when they're gone.
The stump will rot down over time too.
Good luck with yours @Palustris. You'll need some spinach to get the muscles going for that lot!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The other thing though is that one reason why it's such a disaster is that in normal times I work away from home a lot so I'm not always around to maintain it. So I don't want a lawn or anything that needs a lot of attention. I like wild looking old fashioned cottage gardens and I am not averse to sometimes allowing weeds that I like to grow a bit for the benefit of insects etc. But I'm also tired of it being such a boring mess.