We cut down 3 elm trees in March. My hubby being the ever-quick and efficient man he is, finally put some stump killer on it.... Well, he drilled the holes and I filled them. We used an entire bottle of stump/bush killer on these 3 stumps. The little "shoots" that were coming up from the trees are still looking happy and healthy. What has been your experience with stumps? How long will it take for these to die? Will we need to reapply it later?? We applied the stuff 3 days ago.

Thanks,
Sarah

* * * *

Sarah - Zone 5b/6

Sarah, what was the stump killers' active ingredient?
When you initially cut the tree down, you needed to apply the poison to the wound immediately. Like within a minute. Just paint it on neat. So your full bottle of poison will possibly have no effect.

As it's too late to do so, it may work for you to allow the sideshoots to grow to a decent size and spray them with glyphosate. However, this will not have any bearing on the time it takes for the tree to decompose, you could be looking at a lifetime for that to happen, depending on the size of the tree. In fact the tree could send out suckers which may also require further attention.
If you want the stump removed, have a stump grinder or a backhoe operator come in and take it out. It'll take an hour or so for each stump and probably cost about $50 an hour for a machine. Then it's done properly and you don't need to pour any more poisons into the soil.

* * * *

The secret is the soil.

The largest stump is about 3.5 diameter, the smallest about 2 feet, and the medium one is probably 4 feet across, with a good 3.5 feet rotted in the center. We had to cut the trees down because their roots were pushing out the concrete in our cellar. And, yes, I know about putting the poison on immediately. My darling hubby said that it wouldn't matter and he'd "get to it". I'm not sure how much trouble we'd get in for burning out a stump--we're still in a pretty good drought here with burn bans in effect. It'd be pretty fun watching them burn though.

We used Bayer Brush Killer Plus, Triclopyr is one of the active ingredients, according to their website (already threw away the bottle).

* * * *

Sarah - Zone 5b/6

Hmmm.... "took the tiller"? I am the tiller. Not too sure how much digging I'm gonna feel inclined to do, especially in 3 different areas! But we might try that once we get some good rain here. About how long does it take to burn out?

* * * *

Sarah - Zone 5b/6

Only one tree was rotten--the others were healthy trees that were growing too close to the house and the roots were beginning to push on the foundation. One is only about 3 feet from the house.

* * * *

Sarah - Zone 5b/6

I would avoid all of these chemical remedies. It's been my experience that after cutting the tree down, I can put a potted plant on the stump. Any sprouts are easily knocked off. This is usually sufficient to kill the tree stump and rot it out in a few years. Meanwhile, I can devote my energies to something else.

* * * *

sounds like treating the stump is the best way to go...the treatment will eventually work it's way down through all the roots - and those shoots will die off (might help to cut them off tho).

i never realized a tree, like an elm, could send shoots up...always thought they only grew from seeds.