Leylandii: stump grind or dig out? Sussex

[Duncansimpson]

Yes Jonathon still going strong

[Logged On]

Neighbour had some leylandi in their garden at the bottom of ours...

 

Nowt would grow in our garden until 1, he had them removed, and 2, I had to go mad with lime to correct the soil ph level.

 

Maybe worth noting after stump removal and the customer wanting to grow something else in their place....???

[spandit]

Tried winching some smaller one out. Jimny ended up off the ground (rear towbar tied to an oak tree). Snapped one but the roots left in. These ones are not so easy to get to and are a lot bigger

[Steve Bullman]

I think the big main question is do you actually have a digger to hand? If so then yes use it.

When I first started out, stump grinders were readily available, finance not so much....so we dug out many many stumps by hand. It hard work, but leylandii roots are pretty shallow, perfectly feasible to dig these out by hand if you are looking to save money

[spandit]

I don't have my own digger but can hire one quite cheaply and quite often get to borrow one from the chap next door when he hires one. Concerned that stump grinding is going to leave pits full of fresh chip which will inhibit growth for new planting

[cornish wood burner]

We have taken down several leylandii 2 to 3 ft diameter and dealt with the stumps. We found a wheeled digger much quicker than the grinder and you do not ruin your chain trying to cut close to the ground. Only down side was some of the roots needed to be chased back and a few smaller ones needed to be cut off. Ripper tooth worked well digging through the large roots which were up to 1ft diameter. Smaller stumps easily come out in seconds.

The ground can then be used for replanting again but too much remained with the ground

out ones.