Planting a Tree where 1 once existed

Johansson

Frustrated..........We just bought a house and there is an area in the yard where the previous owners had a tree cut down and the stump removed. My husband wanted to plant a tree in that same spot, however when we started to dig, all we came across were roots. We thought that we'd have no problem planting the new tree right there since everything was ground up. How can we get the various roots out of that area so we can replant? Another issues is that TN has that hard red clay as dirt and we're finding it hard to dig in that type of dirt.

slakker

I have the same problem in my yard, also lots of rocks and boulders... What I found helped is a 60" wedge point crowbar... I don't know if there's a technical name for it, but you can get these at Homedepot in the gardening tools section.

It's very heavy with a sharp flat wedge on one end so you can use it like a spear to cut through even 1" thick roots pretty easily... but it's still hard work...

Sammy

If the stump was "removed " by the previous owner you wouldnt have too much of an issue replanting. More than likely the stump was ground a few inches below grade and left to rot away which is normal.

I would suggest moving the planting area for the new tree a few feet to one side of the old stump and doing a tree ring around that with some flowers, mulch, etc to cover.

It'll be a lot less work...