I agree with Hostafan; best to cut it down low then cover and mulch. Eventually you get some rather good soil when it rots down, and this is a much better method than using poison. I had an ash stump which took years but eventually disappeared, and things like poplars take no time at all once they stop sending up suckers.
How tall are the stumps? As I suffer from honey fungus (well, not me, my garden), I am careful to remove all stumps.
What I do is cut down to 4-5 ft. Then dig up the stump, cutting through any resistant roots, using the above ground trunk as a lever to rock and wriggle the rest out. The longer you leave it to rot a bit, the easier the task is. You have to ensure that it does not resprout or it will not rot.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I did actually try burning a smallish stump a few years ago but, having made a small coal fire on top of it, it had no effect. I think fire tends to burn UPWARDS? Have you ever seen a wad of newspaper left behind when all else has burnt away? What bédé says is the tried and tested method.
Thank you all. @bede - they are probably about one foot tall and they aren't all sprouting. They were medium sized Ash trees that succumbed to die back so stumps quite wide but this thread has given me a few things to try and there isn't any iimmediate need for them to be gone.
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I always like natural ways of doing things and this method is new to me and certainly one we could try. Very interesting.
What I do is cut down to 4-5 ft. Then dig up the stump, cutting through any resistant roots, using the above ground trunk as a lever to rock and wriggle the rest out. The longer you leave it to rot a bit, the easier the task is. You have to ensure that it does not resprout or it will not rot.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
https://www.gotreequotes.com/how-to-get-rid-of-a-stump-quickly/
bédé says is the tried and tested method.
@bede - they are probably about one foot tall and they aren't all sprouting.
They were medium sized Ash trees that succumbed to die back so stumps quite wide but this thread has given me a few things to try and there isn't any iimmediate need for them to be gone.