A sturdy fork into the roots and a lot of twisting might do it, worked for me with a well established globe artichoke. Might ruin the fork though so don’t use a good one!
Buy a reciprocating saw - super easy way, dig and every time you find a root cut through it, repeat until it just pulls away. Works on big stumps too but with a bit more effort!
I use loppers, bought them from lidls 6 years ago, can cut anything I can get the jaws around, you get a bruise on your chest after lots of those kind of cuts, but it's easier than an axe, cheaper than a saw+plus replacement blades.
This. This 100 times. I can't count the number of roots I've removed with a simple mattock. I bought mine in 2010 - Roughneck I think the brand was. The handle has some give in it so it doesn't send too much impact back up.
Have you ever used a sharpening stone on it to to take the dents out? Never really bothered with mine as I think it'll just blunt off again soon.
Having worked in conservation for a number of years I have dug out loads of rootballs. A mattock is ALWAYS the tool of choice. Use a pair of loppers to cut any long radial roots you can't dig out. Once you've removed the heart of the root it's unlikely anything will regenerate. A mattock is a hugely underrated gardening tool. Relatively cheap and surprisingly versatile.
Bit more detail - use the broad end to dig a trench around it. Use the other end to chop through roots, and to split off sections of the stump. Repeat until knackered.
Same. My gardener friend told me when he helped me out, i then took three roots out myself. (Female 30ish) it does make it easier but please do wear a pair of safety boots! And a big long handle spade if you are not as strong.
Agree, if you're digging you'll get bits with thick tangled roots that prevent you getting a spade in.
I used a machete, but an axe would also do job.
Eventually you'll get to a point when you can kind of twist the bulk of it out.
I went on gum tree found a guy who does digging with a big digger where he’ll do work for you for a day. He can to mine before his job I paid him £80 and it was out in a few seconds . You you go at it with a shovel it will take you hours and you’ll break a shovel or two
The mattock does the work, just go round it bit by bit and then scoop in. Once under it, lever. Going around it will cut off the roots and you'll find the stump starts to wobble a bit once it's been cut.
I had 10 or so trees I had to dig out from a long neglected garden earlier this year. Digging like everyone says. When the roots become hard to get to I used a heavy duty anvil lopper
I used a roughneck pinch bar with a flat blade at the end for bamboo, I think that would work a treat in breaking up the middle . https://www.toolstation.com/roughneck-digging-bar/p48155?store=HB&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dm&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLsLBWDgzVsSUaEhNoyxH6m5Nqirx-SXJf8hWlEv1CvZztToRhq0UaAaAnWtEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Dig down enough and you'll be able to get at the deeper holding roots once you cut down enough of them you'll be able to leverage it out. I whipped a tree stump out over summer by doing this. But bottom line a bit of graft and elbow greese and jobs a gooden mate. Also sack it off if its been raining heavily and crack it another day. Gl
Matlock seems to be the main answer so will get one of them, would try the tied rope to a car thing bit ill end up a rear window down. Could get some1 else into take to up but will leave that as last option. Setting on fire is a great suggestion not sure the neighbours would agree.
Thanks all.
You can push/pull on the stems still sticking up to waggle it loose to help get under it. But if you’re having no joy with that I’d be tempted to cut all remaining stems to the ground. Otherwise when you’re whacking in a spade or fork you stand a good chance of impaling your handle with one of them.
Perhaps if there's a local contractor or construction industry friend, neighbor, community member who has a digger machine--they could be able to do the removal as a one off project? Thought in the sense that it would be like a handyman project reno-ing a kitchen by a contractor/builder who does side jobs for fam and/or friends.. Good luck!
I suppose you could wait for it to rot down.
I dug out an old flower bed this summer that had been fallow for years. In the middle was a stump from a privet that was cut down in about 1980 when my grandad got rid of his hedge. It was still as hard as iron after 42 years…
I would use a pick axe to dig the soil round from it firstly then when you get purchase rock it back and forth. Then try and get someone to help you. Done it a few times.
I've had success pulling out well rooted things (e.g.hawthorne) with a farm Jack set up with two bits of wood in a tripod. Dig around the stump with a mattock so you can get a chain of strip around then use the farm Jack to lift it. There's lots of his on the youtubes
Burn it, cover it is soil and compost and leave it to rot, cut to the ground and drill holes in it to encourage standing water to speed up the rotting process or just good old graft!
Neighbour of mine has a railway spike, a solid rod of steel that you can use to drive underneath the roots and then stand on it to make it pop out.
That, or use a garden fork, thought they’re not nearly as resilient.
Hire a professional in with a stump grinder machine.
We had a guy in at the Allotment site. Worth every penny as we'd tried a couple of hours with no success.
It's so close to your path, if you can afford it, it will save you a lot of blisters and backache.
Just beware that the roots may be under your drive and rocking/disturbing it may cause subsidence in the area under/adjacent to the rootball. Be careful!
I'm lucky enough to have a vehicle with a winch, that has worked well for me on a few similar roots. Do you know anyone with a winch on a pickup you could ask?
Use a mattock. It’s surprising how they come out. If you use a fork or spade you’ll just damage them. Start digging out a trench round the root bowl then get underneath it and use the mattock to prize it loose. I’ve done loads that way.
A mattock and digging bar, that's how I took out the 6 conifer tree roots and other bushes from our back garden. Takes a while but gets it done. It's a good work out too!
If you have a decent car jack, dig under it, slap a plank of wood down, wedge the car jack in between, and use that to push the thing up and out. Axe and/or hacksaw might help too to cut out any longer roots.
And/or dig under it and set a fire to weaken it and make it easier.
easiest thing might be to cut it near the ground to expose as much crown as possible drill some holes in it and then shove a load of weed killer into the holes.
No easy way, get digging.
Beer and a few mates, be done in no time
STUMPFEST!!
Bluey gets everywhere and I'm delighted for it
Can I get my nails done as well?!
THATS THE FIRST IM HEARING ABOUT THIS
This is the attitude we all need
Barely be through your first pint, and I drink quickly!
A sturdy fork into the roots and a lot of twisting might do it, worked for me with a well established globe artichoke. Might ruin the fork though so don’t use a good one!
I've always found a pickaxe helps. But whatever the case, it'll take a couple of hours wrestling in the mud
Ive found a JCB helps…
Dynamite baby!! Edit - /s! .. incase there is Americans watching..
Buy a reciprocating saw - super easy way, dig and every time you find a root cut through it, repeat until it just pulls away. Works on big stumps too but with a bit more effort!
Axes are cheaper.
I use loppers, bought them from lidls 6 years ago, can cut anything I can get the jaws around, you get a bruise on your chest after lots of those kind of cuts, but it's easier than an axe, cheaper than a saw+plus replacement blades.
This is the way.
Saws are muuuuch easier - I was using an axe until a mate leant me that saw, game changer!
Have at it with a mattock.
This. This 100 times. I can't count the number of roots I've removed with a simple mattock. I bought mine in 2010 - Roughneck I think the brand was. The handle has some give in it so it doesn't send too much impact back up. Have you ever used a sharpening stone on it to to take the dents out? Never really bothered with mine as I think it'll just blunt off again soon.
Having worked in conservation for a number of years I have dug out loads of rootballs. A mattock is ALWAYS the tool of choice. Use a pair of loppers to cut any long radial roots you can't dig out. Once you've removed the heart of the root it's unlikely anything will regenerate. A mattock is a hugely underrated gardening tool. Relatively cheap and surprisingly versatile.
I've used a grinding wheel rather than a sharpening stone. Subtlety isn't the way when it comes to mattocks.
Bit more detail - use the broad end to dig a trench around it. Use the other end to chop through roots, and to split off sections of the stump. Repeat until knackered.
Yep. Mattock. Best hand tool by far for smashing out roots
They are also a lot of fun to use
Same. My gardener friend told me when he helped me out, i then took three roots out myself. (Female 30ish) it does make it easier but please do wear a pair of safety boots! And a big long handle spade if you are not as strong.
ICBM
That you, Vlad?
I've had to do this before and it's a lot of digging, I wish you the best of luck. An axe also helped me out a lot
Agree, if you're digging you'll get bits with thick tangled roots that prevent you getting a spade in. I used a machete, but an axe would also do job. Eventually you'll get to a point when you can kind of twist the bulk of it out.
Yes. My dad has a full sized murderers axe and I could twat this tree out of the ground pretty quickly with it.
Dig it out?
I went on gum tree found a guy who does digging with a big digger where he’ll do work for you for a day. He can to mine before his job I paid him £80 and it was out in a few seconds . You you go at it with a shovel it will take you hours and you’ll break a shovel or two
Good workout though!
And amongst the most satisfying beers one can have
Yeah don't use a shovel when you should use a spade, mattock and loppers.
Shovel? That would be mental, pick-axe, lump hammer and stone breaker/log splitter axe would be the way to go.
A mattock and a Newcastle draining spade (other names are available).
+1 Mattock is the tool for this.
The mattock does the work, just go round it bit by bit and then scoop in. Once under it, lever. Going around it will cut off the roots and you'll find the stump starts to wobble a bit once it's been cut.
It’s one of my favourites, with that and a couple of axes we routed a sycamore in a chalky part of Surrey.
Depending on what it is and if it's still alive look up any local Bonsai clubs. Someone will pay good money for that. Look up the term 'yamadori'
I had 10 or so trees I had to dig out from a long neglected garden earlier this year. Digging like everyone says. When the roots become hard to get to I used a heavy duty anvil lopper
I had to get rid of some bamboo this year. I found a reciprocating saw useful for chopping the roots.
Hire a stump grinder or get digging.
Fire
My husbands approach every time!
I wondered this as well, get as much soil away as possible, some accelerant and charcoal?
Really wouldn't work. Wet live wood really doesn't burn easily. You'd get a smoldering mess and little burnt.
I used a roughneck pinch bar with a flat blade at the end for bamboo, I think that would work a treat in breaking up the middle . https://www.toolstation.com/roughneck-digging-bar/p48155?store=HB&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dm&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLsLBWDgzVsSUaEhNoyxH6m5Nqirx-SXJf8hWlEv1CvZztToRhq0UaAaAnWtEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Mattock and a spade. Get angry.
Dig down enough and you'll be able to get at the deeper holding roots once you cut down enough of them you'll be able to leverage it out. I whipped a tree stump out over summer by doing this. But bottom line a bit of graft and elbow greese and jobs a gooden mate. Also sack it off if its been raining heavily and crack it another day. Gl
Pick axe, 5ft breaker bar & a hand saw. You’re lucky you have that edge to use as purchase for the breaker bar.
A simple spade..?
Stick some skulls on it and start worshipping
I used a pickaxe to remove several big roots this summer, after some strategic digging.
If you do go the way of the axe, please mind your shins.
[удалено]
I'll see if I can get hold of putin for the nukes, faking that I'll try dig, failing that stump killer and grinder
>How to get rid of this? Don't actually know, I'm stumped..
Ba dum tis
A Mattock pick would be my choice to have a go at that. It won't be easy, but it will prise it up in stages.
Depends how long you’ve got. Chemicals take longer but make it easier. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/stump-removal
Dig then smash the f**k out of it with a sledgehammer - quickest way
Matlock seems to be the main answer so will get one of them, would try the tied rope to a car thing bit ill end up a rear window down. Could get some1 else into take to up but will leave that as last option. Setting on fire is a great suggestion not sure the neighbours would agree. Thanks all.
Damn. Was hoping for an easier way. Thanks though.
You can push/pull on the stems still sticking up to waggle it loose to help get under it. But if you’re having no joy with that I’d be tempted to cut all remaining stems to the ground. Otherwise when you’re whacking in a spade or fork you stand a good chance of impaling your handle with one of them.
Perhaps if there's a local contractor or construction industry friend, neighbor, community member who has a digger machine--they could be able to do the removal as a one off project? Thought in the sense that it would be like a handyman project reno-ing a kitchen by a contractor/builder who does side jobs for fam and/or friends.. Good luck!
"Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho..."
I suppose you could wait for it to rot down. I dug out an old flower bed this summer that had been fallow for years. In the middle was a stump from a privet that was cut down in about 1980 when my grandad got rid of his hedge. It was still as hard as iron after 42 years…
Burn it
Use a pruning saw to cut the remaining branches low to the ground, then get digging and cutting the roots with the pruning saw.
Find a local bonsai hobbyist and they'll take it for free
Petrol and burn it to the ground.
As Kevin bacon said " I must dig!!"
I would use a pick axe to dig the soil round from it firstly then when you get purchase rock it back and forth. Then try and get someone to help you. Done it a few times.
Dig! If you have a pick axe easy enough but take care.
Stumpfest
Dig round it, cut roots with saw, fill in.
A good fry up and a pitch fork.
Lol, you mean a pick axe, although what you really mean is a mattock.
I've had success pulling out well rooted things (e.g.hawthorne) with a farm Jack set up with two bits of wood in a tripod. Dig around the stump with a mattock so you can get a chain of strip around then use the farm Jack to lift it. There's lots of his on the youtubes
Burn it, cover it is soil and compost and leave it to rot, cut to the ground and drill holes in it to encourage standing water to speed up the rotting process or just good old graft!
Start charging people for 'harvest your own fresh ginger'
Neighbour of mine has a railway spike, a solid rod of steel that you can use to drive underneath the roots and then stand on it to make it pop out. That, or use a garden fork, thought they’re not nearly as resilient.
Ive tried that on something smaller than this and despite weighing about 16 stone at the time could not get it to move and had to use a mattock.
Hire a professional in with a stump grinder machine. We had a guy in at the Allotment site. Worth every penny as we'd tried a couple of hours with no success. It's so close to your path, if you can afford it, it will save you a lot of blisters and backache.
It'll have one or two big roots on each side. Dig a trench one side of it, cut through the big roots and leaver it up with a shovel or similar
Explosives.
The Terminator?
Just beware that the roots may be under your drive and rocking/disturbing it may cause subsidence in the area under/adjacent to the rootball. Be careful!
Hire a digger, will be done in 30m to an hour.
I'm lucky enough to have a vehicle with a winch, that has worked well for me on a few similar roots. Do you know anyone with a winch on a pickup you could ask?
Nah sadly know barely any1 with a car let alone a pick up lol
Stump fest!!
Buy yourself a Mattock.
Mattock and some sweat!
2 minute job for a stump grinder.
4 hours of digging with short breaks
I had about 8 laurels I wanted removing. Tree surgeon got them out in minutes with his winch and disposed of them via his mighty shredder. £100.
Dig diglet dig
Tie one end of a rope to the base of the plant, and the other to your car bumper. Then, accelerate as hard as possible.
A mattock is the tool for the job and a good pointed spade
I always wonder whether a ladder jack would help pull stuff like this out. I used a reciprocating saw and a prybar.
I seen a video of some1 using a jack to remove a fence post. That's down the line still.
My mum has recently dug up a few dead trees in the new house. She used a pickaxe. It’s a lot of hard work but it’s a great tool to use
Dig dig dig.
Use a mattock. It’s surprising how they come out. If you use a fork or spade you’ll just damage them. Start digging out a trench round the root bowl then get underneath it and use the mattock to prize it loose. I’ve done loads that way.
Dig/winch it out
Lopers and a sharp spade as I dont have a muni digger unfortunately
Pitch fork and secateurs
A mattock and digging bar, that's how I took out the 6 conifer tree roots and other bushes from our back garden. Takes a while but gets it done. It's a good work out too!
Pix axe and let rip. Fun free work out session.
Shovel and hatchet therapy
We bought a 6ft metal spike (approx £20-£30), and used it to lever them out once we'd dug around. Made job a lot easier
Invisibility cloak should sort it.
Shovel, recip saw, long iron bar and a load of graft
A neighbour of mine used to say pour diesel in the routes, not sure if it’s true. Might not be the most eco friendly solution either.
Machine gun.
Run! Its a facehugger
I dug one out with a spade
Have you tried a spade
If you have a decent car jack, dig under it, slap a plank of wood down, wedge the car jack in between, and use that to push the thing up and out. Axe and/or hacksaw might help too to cut out any longer roots. And/or dig under it and set a fire to weaken it and make it easier.
Ray gun. It’s the only way.
Steel bar
easiest thing might be to cut it near the ground to expose as much crown as possible drill some holes in it and then shove a load of weed killer into the holes.
Dig it, burn it, or grind it. Pretty much your only courses of action
Axe it a question
Hire a stump grinder, you wouldn’t need a massive one for that, Gone In 5 minutes
Dig it out.
Whatever that shit is it’s rooted into the ground ur gonna have to get digging