[freemeals]

i have an old cherry and plum tree i'm currently removing - neither one ever cared for, growing at 45 degrees and producing little fruit (previous owner responsible!). plan to replace one with an apple tree (1 metre away) and the other with some kitchen herbs. just read that some hardwoods and especially cherry trees can sprout again from roots left in the ground. so the only solution seems to be to kill the trees before i dig the stumps out (don't fancy digging a 10 foot wide hole to remove the roots!)  i garden organically so am presented with a problem - killing the tree without contaminating the surrounding ground with chemicals. any suggestions? 

[shaun]

block n tackle 

[freemeals]

mmm. any examples of that working? i imagine i'd need a helicopter to pull these out - they were pretty big. and surely that would leave some roots remaining?

[Salmo]

The modern way to do it is to get a tree specialist to grind them up below ground level with a specialist tool.
If you do not want to dig them out you can kill any suckers with Roundup which will not contaminate the surrounding soil. A 1 to 3 solution is what you want. Apply it with a paintbrush.

[freemeals]

thanks salmo. i'll look into that.

[Rangerkris]

Blisters, sweat and moaning is about the only real way of removing these.  Or spend your money and get a stump grinder in if its possible.   Treat the suckers as and when

[RichardA]

If I have room I leave a length of trunk in place and build a birdtable on it. If roots really really have to come out I cut off side branches on one side but leave as much trunk as I can and as much weight as I can in direction of fall. Needs a lot of room so be very careful then attach a strong rope, dig out around tree cut all roots and pull -- nothing will happen at this stage so dig more and cut more. Curse, dig cut more roots and eventually tree will be capable of being pulled over BUT at least the root ball comes out with it.
 If you can then get help but only at the last stage as they get bored with all previous stages and just wander off.
R

[freemeals]

thanks everyone. some good suggestions. I've never been afraid of a bit of hard work! 

[freemeals]

just found this - Roundup Tree Stump & Root Killer. apparrently it allows for re planting. not sure how good it'll be for soil (especially when tree eventually rots) but it'll be the easiest option. i have very heavy clay soil so am a bit worried that any contamination will be there for good. tricky. the manufactorer claims...
-Fully degrades in the soil
-Leaves no harmful residues, allows replanting
but then it won't be them that'll be eating my apples!
maybe i'm too sceptical?

[BestBreast]

Good luck. We have just had a plum tree chain sanw down, we had some killer put on the stump as it was so big and had a lot of suckers. We will probably dig it up in a few years time, when its had time to rot.  It is just not possible right now as it was sooooo big. We know the solution was safe for the garden and chickens but I'll have to find out what it was called (good news is there are products out there). 

[richyrich7]

If you can leave about 4-5' of the trunk, for leverage so you can dig round and rock out or like Shaun said block and tackle one out using the other trunk as an anchor.
If your truly organic then roundup is not an option.

[coatesi]

Had a similar problem with a Nashi Pear. I just cut it off as close to ground level as possible (with the old chainsaw chain) and then drilled 1/2" holes in the top of the stump to let water and the weather to penetrate. It is gradually rotting away and I break off large peices every few months. It's not that I am organic but I did not want to dig up and relay a couple of thousand of cobble stone blocks for the stump grinder to get to it.
 The fingers have just healed from the original job 9 years ago
coatesi

[freemeals]

well i want to be organic if possible. especially considering that the replacement tree and shrubs will all be producing food for the family. trouble is i've a patio and concrete covering 5/6 of the plum roots right up to the trunk. and it's in another part of the garden. i'm starting to think that Coatesi's suggestion may be a good solution for the plum. i guess it would eventually die if i was resilient with the removal of new shoots/suckers. surely a tree can't live forever by it's roots alone? the cherry is in the lawn so has better access - trouble is i felled it last year and only have 1 1/2 feet above ground. maybe the same approach would be good and organic with the added advantage of being able to dig out the stump sooner or later. i need to dig a new hole for the new apple tree anyway to improve the soil condition (it's solid/stoney clay) so could maybe combine both jobs - does anyone know if it's a bad idea planting a new fruit tree close to the position of the old cherry - would there be any diseases in the roots as they rot - would i need to replace the soil for the new tree?