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Elder stump removal

Shirleyad16Shirleyad16 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
My question is how to get rid of elder and hawthorn stumps without using poison which would harm puppy and wildlife?

Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    You can keep removing all signs of new growth and they will probably give up in 2-3 years, after which they will begin to rot down.
    Alternatively, use a stump killer and tie a plastic bags over the stumps to keep pets and wildlife away from the poison, or put upturned plant pots over them.  You only need a tiny amount of SBK or similar, painted on the top of the cuts.
    Or get yourself (or a helper) a mattock and dig them out, which is less work than one might imagine.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Or hire one of the smaller stumpgrinders (about the size of a petrol rotary mower) and grind them down to the roots. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    Drill several holes in the stumps (as big as possible) and fill with salt (the cheap stuff from agri merchants).  Repeat as necessary.
  • Forester_PeteForester_Pete Posts: 175
    Depends how big it is but I have manually removed stumps with mattock  and log splitter, the type one hits with a sledgehammer.  Bit of graft but satisfying.  The last big one some years ago was just keep removing regrowth and it finally gave up. I have a couple of conifer stumps here I will just watch to rot for a few years. 
  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    We are fortunate to have a caravan, in the plot next to ours grew a full size Alder. It had started to rot in the centre and the site owners had it cut down. However nothing was done with the trunk which was easily 2-3 foot wide. The trunk sprouted stems the first Spring a complete circle. That was probably 3 years ago...the clump is easily 12-15 high and wide. We cut back the growth over our plot but it's becoming a horror story. I wish the stump had been properly removed or treated...beware ignoring it. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited January 2021
    Umm @bilge ... alder and elder are two different species of tree

    Alder = Alnus glutinosa

    Elder = Sambucus nigra

    😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    Oh Dove thanks, I was stuck indoors half asleep, apologies to all for not reading original post correctly. 
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    How about making them part of the garden. Make them into a stumpery. 

    The wildlife will love them as they rot and they will look good too. Just an idea @Shirleyad16 🙂
  • InglezinhoInglezinho Posts: 568
    It's much better to let them rot down naturally in situ, although you will need to plant  other new plants at least half a meter away. One way of speeding up the process is to make a "sign of the cross" cut across the stump and then pour boiling water into it. I use a blowtorch.
    Everyone likes butterflies. Nobody likes caterpillars.
  • Shirleyad16Shirleyad16 Posts: 4
    Thank you for all the advice.  I went with hiring a man with a digger who got them all out then disposed of in a skip.  Site ready for new planting soon after fence is erected.
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