Tree root-balls etc after trees have been removed

[Thomas Dai]

Lots of existing courses have removed trees, often many and located close together.
But what happens to the root-ball and the roots generally?
And root-balls can be huge and go down deep into the soil and individual roots stretch tentacle like for surprisingly long distances.
Are the root-balls killed-off/poisoned and then just left in the ground?
Are the root-balls removed .... if so where too and what about filling-in the hole that’s left in the ground following their removal?
Are they set-alight and burnt?
Is some form of deep grind undertaken .... might have to go down pretty deep given how large many root-balls are!?
What happens to roots that run along existing drainage pipes?
And when trees are close to each other their root-balls grow together and intertwine effectively increasing their size and weight.
Thoughts and examples?
Atb

[Jeff_Brauer]

If taken down by bulldozer, they take a lot of the roots with them. If cut down, there are stump grinders which are typically used to remove the bulk of them.  From my experience, most don't take that job too seriously, often leaving some or much of the roots in the ground.  In most cases, soil is brought back in to fill the area, usually humped slightly so it remains level after the inevitable settling in the pit, as the roots etc. are hard to compact properly.

[archie_struthers]

 


To do it right you can use a steel spear or rail splitter like implement that is hammered into the center of the existing stump that remains in ground.  When you shatter  the core it's fairly easy to take out the rest of the stump . It's a pain but not the worst work to keep your crew busy in the off season. Typically you can use in house equipment like a backhoe with a bucket to do it.


If you don"t do it sooner or later you will probably wish you had !

[John Emerson]

Lots of existing courses have removed trees, often many and located close together.
But what happens to the root-ball and the roots generally?
And root-balls can be huge and go down deep into the soil and individual roots stretch tentacle like for surprisingly long distances.
Are the root-balls killed-off/poisoned and then just left in the ground?
Are the root-balls removed .... if so where too and what about filling-in the hole that’s left in the ground following their removal?
Are they set-alight and burnt?
Is some form of deep grind undertaken .... might have to go down pretty deep given how large many root-balls are!?
What happens to roots that run along existing drainage pipes?
And when trees are close to each other their root-balls grow together and intertwine effectively increasing their size and weight.
Thoughts and examples?
Atb

As Jeff said bull dozing them over kinda just pops them out of the ground...root ball and all.  This is the best way.  Cut and then stump grind is hit or miss.  You really need to grind the stumps as deep as possible.  If they’re ground too shallow there won’t be enough soil there to support turf quality, long term growth. Think of putting soil in a bowl. The bowl is the shallowly ground root ball. Once grass roots reach the depth of the bowl there’s nowhere to go for water and nutrients.  Someone should be on quality control watch for whoever is grinding the stumps. 


Feeder and secondary roots will decompose over time, donating back to soil organic matter, and return some nutrients back to the soil.


Getting that main trunk and tap root ball out is the key.  All the other smaller roots are usually insignificant.

If there are significant amounts of trees removed they can be burned, or buried.  If the chipper is big enough they can be sent through a chipper.

[Craig Sweet]

Before I worked as a greenskeeper I owned a nursery/landscape business....When it came to tree removal the final cut would be as close to the ground as possible. Then we would use a stump grinder to grind down the remaining stump, and visible roots, five or six inches below ground level. Then we would bring in soil, pack it down so as to not leave a depression nor a mound, and toss some grass seed down. In some cases we would prep the "hole" for sod instead of seed.  Not exactly rocket science.

[archie_struthers]

 


You can use a stump grinder but if you want to do it right you have to shatter the tap root core and remove the pieces. Of course I'v always enjoyed blowing things up !

[Tim Martin]

You can use a stump grinder but if you want to do it right you have to shatter the tap root core and remove the pieces. Of course I'v always enjoyed blowing things up !

Archie-Have you seen any of the remote controlled commercial stump grinders? Pretty stealthy!

[John Emerson]

These things were awesome to watch work.  We had both of these when we cut down 4000ish trees at Valhalla prior to 08 Ryder Cup.  They made short work of dense woods with huge trees.  Excavator hand would grab the tree for support then I’d cut the base of the tree with the chainsaw.  Excavator would then place the entire tree into the chipper and off we’d go t[size=78%]o the next tree.  Stump grinder would be a couple trees behind knocking them down to nothing.  Fun times!  The chipper was remote controlled.  The excavator operator would drive the chipper around from the cab of his excavator.[/size]



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tsQbUT18sCY


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PLjsPLx_zTY

[John McCarthy]

The derecho/tornado took down the last three trees in my yard last August.  Insurance only paid to cut them to stumps, so last week I had the most zealous stump grinder in the nation come out to take care of the stumps.


How zealous?  He took out the galvanized pipe containing the electric line to my garage.  So I have to lift my garage door manually until I can find an electrician who likes to excavate.  Plus, the line is still hot and wholly unmarked on my circuit breaker.  Ugh. 


enough of my venting, back to GCA.  My guy went down about twelve inches and two feet on either side of the stumps.  He did get the roots.

[Tim Martin]

The derecho/tornado took down the last three trees in my yard last August.  Insurance only paid to cut them to stumps, so last week I had the most zealous stump grinder in the nation come out to take care of the stumps.


How zealous?  He took out the galvanized pipe containing the electric line to my garage.  So I have to lift my garage door manually until I can find an electrician who likes to excavate.  Plus, the line is still hot and wholly unmarked on my circuit breaker.  Ugh. 


enough of my venting, back to GCA.  My guy went down about twelve inches and two feet on either side of the stumps.  He did get the roots.

John-Your guy seems like more of a digger than a picker.