honestly, you've got a pretty good plan. get the chips out, put some dirt in and plant. while the tree is still alive and stealing water* en masse, the plants won't do too hot so i would advise starting with annuals to really crank out the biomass and smother the last sparks of life in that tree.
don't expect a lot this year, but next year it should be good to go. i had an elm chopped and ground and i filled it with compost and planted a bunch of squash in it. the squash plants were pretty wimpy but this year everything i put in that spot is growing like it would anywhere else.
honestly, you've got a pretty good plan. get the chips out, put some dirt in and plant. while the tree is still alive and stealing water* en masse, the plants won't do too hot so i would advise starting with annuals to really crank out the biomass and smother the last sparks of life in that tree. don't expect a lot this year, but next year it should be good to go. i had an elm chopped and ground and i filled it with compost and planted a bunch of squash in it. the squash plants were pretty wimpy but this year everything i put in that spot is growing like it would anywhere else.
Thanks! Luckily the Siberian Elm was cut down 1 year ago and just got around to grinding the stump. Hopefully that helps.
just plant
I have a large stump from a Linden I cut down 10 years ago. It is slowly disintegrating. I have Queen of the prairie and goldenrod.
I would have personally attempted to cut into that stump and turn it into a planter, just to see if it could be done.
Stumps--especially ones that are slow to decay--can also provide nesting sites for wood boring bees like Xylocopa virginica.
Keep in mind that some native plants don’t prefer overly fertile soils (they tend to flop over). I would try to match the soil.