What to Do After Stump Grinding
Rake out most of the wood chips, fill the hole with good soil, let it settle for a few weeks, top it up, then plant grass or ground cover. If you want a new tree, plant it a few feet away from the old stump rather than right in the grindings.
The Pile of Chips
A ground stump leaves a mound of wood chips mixed with soil, usually more than people expect. You have three choices:
- Use them as mulch. They work well around shrubs, in beds and on paths. Keep them a few inches away from tree trunks and house siding.
- Leave some in the hole. Fine if the spot will be a mulched bed. Not great under grass.
- Have them hauled. Ask before the grinding starts if you want this.
Why the Spot Sinks
Wood chips and the remaining roots underneath break down over months and years. As they decompose, the ground over the old stump sinks. If you fill the hole with chips and lay sod straight on top, expect a dip in the lawn by next summer.
The fix is simple:
- Pull out as many chips as you reasonably can from the hole.
- Fill with topsoil or a soil and compost mix, slightly mounded.
- Water it in and let it settle for a few weeks.
- Add more soil to bring it level, then plant.
Expect to add a little more soil over the next year as roots below keep breaking down.
Grass Over the Spot
St. Augustine and Bermuda, the most common lawns around San Marcos, both spread well into a filled stump hole. Lay sod pieces or plugs on the leveled soil, water regularly until they root, and they'll knit into the surrounding lawn. Leftover chips mixed into the soil can make grass a little pale for a while, so the more chips you remove, the better.
Planting a New Tree
Wood chips tie up nitrogen as soil microbes break them down, which can starve a new tree's roots. Old roots also make digging a proper planting hole hard. Planting a few feet to the side of the old stump avoids both problems.
Pick a tree suited to the spot:
- West side of San Marcos: thin soil over limestone. Choose trees that handle rocky, alkaline ground and drought, like cedar elm, Texas red oak, Mexican white oak, chinkapin oak or bigtooth maple in sheltered spots.
- East of I-35 and along the river: deep blackland clay. Bur oak, cedar elm, shumard oak and pecan do well.
Avoid planting a big shade tree right where the last one failed if the reason was a cramped spot near the house or a foundation.
Sprouts From the Roots
Some trees don't take the hint. Hackberry, mesquite, and some elms can send up sprouts from roots left in the ground after grinding. Cut sprouts off at ground level as soon as they appear. Without leaves to feed them, the roots run out of energy, usually within a season or two.
Ashe juniper doesn't resprout from the stump, and most oaks and pecans resprout weakly if at all once ground.
Surface Roots
Grinding takes out the big roots right around the stump, but long surface roots running across the yard may still be there. They can be ground out separately where they trip the mower, or left to rot. Ask about surface roots when you schedule the grinding.
Limestone and Clay
On the west side, the grinder may have hit rock, meaning the stump was cleared to rock level rather than several inches down. Add soil to build up a planting surface. On blackland clay to the east, low spots hold water after rain, which is another reason to fill and level properly.
A Quick Timeline
- Day of grinding: rake out chips, decide what to keep as mulch.
- Same week: fill with soil, mound slightly, water in.
- Two to four weeks later: top up the low spot, then lay sod or plant ground cover.
- Over the next year: add a little soil if the spot sinks again, and cut any root sprouts as they appear.
Still Have Stumps?
If other stumps are still sitting in the yard from an old tree removal, they can be ground in one visit. See stump grinding.