Is Stump Grinding Worth Doing After Tree Removal?

Sometimes clearly yes, sometimes clearly no, and the deciding factor is not how it looks. It is what that piece of ground is going to be used for, and whether the tree was healthy when it came down.

Clearly worth it

• Something is going in that spot — lawn, patio, decking, a shed base, a new fence line.
• It is in the mowing line. A stump in a lawn is a permanent obstacle and a genuine trip hazard.
• It is on a boundary being re-fenced. Stumps sit exactly where posts and gravel boards want to run.
• It is sending up suckers. Some species regrow from the stump for years. Grinding ends it.
• The tree was diseased or in decline. See below — this is the one people underweight.

Clearly not worth it

• Nothing is planned for that spot and it is out of the way.
• It is low, flat, and will rot down on its own over the years.
• Access makes grinding disproportionately expensive for a stump nobody sees.
• The tree was healthy, so there is no disease consideration.
• You like it. Low stumps make perfectly good plant stands.

The disease point, which is the one that gets missed

Grinding does not remove the whole root system, so it is not a guarantee. But it takes out the stump and the main root plate, which is the largest food source, and that is a sensible precaution where the tree came down because it was unwell rather than because it was in the way.

If you are unsure why the tree declined, it is worth asking whoever fells it what they saw at the base. It is a two-minute observation and it changes the stump decision.

The access point, which is the other one

Grinders come in a range of sizes and the narrow machines pass a standard side gate — but the route matters. And crucially, the route available today may not be the route available in a year.

So the decision is worth making while the site is open, even if the answer is no. Ask for it to be priced alongside the felling; the number costs nothing and the option can genuinely expire.

What grinding leaves behind

A shallow crater of mixed chip and soil, six inches or so deep. Turfed or seeded over it disappears within a season, though the ground sinks as the chip settles and usually wants topping up once in the first year.

If you are planting into that spot, dig the grindings out and backfill with topsoil. Decomposing wood chip pulls nitrogen from the surrounding soil, so anything set straight into it sits in ground working against it — it does not die dramatically, it just never really gets going.

Replanting where a tree stood

One further consideration if the plan is to replace the tree. Some species suffer from replant disease — putting a new apple where an old apple stood, or a new rose where roses grew, frequently produces a plant that never thrives even in good soil.

The usual answers are to move the new tree a few metres, or to change the soil in the planting pit for something from elsewhere in the garden. Worth planning while the ground is open rather than discovering afterwards.

One check on a protected tree

A Tree Preservation Order can extend to the stump as well as the standing tree, and consent to fell is not automatically consent to grind out what is left. Where the tree was protected — by a TPO, or by standing in Pershore's conservation area — confirm with Wychavon District Council that the stump work sits inside the consent or notice you already hold.

Consent to fell a protected tree also frequently carries a replanting condition, and where the replacement goes is far easier to settle while the stump decision is still open and the ground is still clear.

More Pershore Tree Surgery Guides

Also in Pershore

Tree Surgery in Pershore →
Hedge Maintenance in Pershore →
All tree surgery guides →