A tree stump can be kept as a planter, a seat, a side table or a fairy garden, as long as it is sound, away from the house and no longer sprouting. Do not turn one into a fire pit: the N.C. Forest Service tells people to keep fires clear of rotten stumps, since fire can creep into roots and flare up again later.
First, should this stump stay?
Some stumps make good features and some are trouble with flowers on top. A good candidate sits away from the house, the drive and the mowing line, is solid when you push a screwdriver into the top, and is not throwing up shoots. A poor one is soft and crumbling, sprouting, close to the foundation or deck, or in the middle of a path. NC State Extension lists tree stumps among the usual outdoor nesting sites of carpenter ants, so a rotting stump near the house is better gone. Iowa State Extension's advice on stumps left in place is to check them over the years and remove them once they pose a risk.
Stop the sprouts before you decorate
A freshly cut hardwood often tries to grow back. Illinois Extension notes that a live tree cut down will often resprout from the stump or from the roots around it. A planter bristling with suckers is not the look anyone wants. You can rub or clip shoots off as they appear and keep at it until the roots give up. Illinois also describes painting the outer sapwood of a fresh cut with a systemic herbicide containing glyphosate or triclopyr. If you go that way, follow the label exactly, and think twice when the stump's twin, a tree of the same species, is still growing close by.
Turning a stump into a planter
The simplest version needs no carving. Set a pot or two on top, or a ring of containers around the base, which is what Illinois Extension suggests. To plant into the stump itself, hollow out the center of the top with a drill and a chisel or an axe, leaving a thick wall of sound wood all round. Drill a few drainage holes down through the bottom of the hollow or out through the side, so water does not pool, and line it with landscape fabric before filling it with potting mix. Expect a hollowed stump that holds damp soil to rot faster than a solid one.
Seats and side tables
A low, wide, sound stump makes a natural seat or a table beside a bench. Cut the top flat and level if it was left ragged, sand off splinters, and give the edge a slight round so it does not catch clothes. Use a chainsaw only if you are trained and wearing proper protection, or have someone else make the cut. Whatever you do to the top, the stump is still rotting from the ground up, and a seat that softens can give way. Push a screwdriver into the base each spring. When it sinks in easily, the seat is done.
Fairy gardens, mosses and wildlife
A stump that is already softening suits a different idea: let it rot on purpose and dress it up. Illinois Extension mentions dressing a stump up as a fairy house, and points out that dead wood is hard to find in developed areas and can be a refuge for wild animals. Moss, ferns and shade plants around the base suit a stump under trees. Mushrooms will come and go, which is part of the show. This suits the edge of a woodland garden, away from the house and the play area, where a slowly crumbling stump is a feature rather than a hazard.
Why a stump fire pit is a bad idea
A hollow stump looks made for a fire. It is a poor choice. Fire does not stay in the bowl: it works down into the dry wood and along the roots, out of sight. The N.C. Forest Service's outdoor fire advice tells campers to keep fires clear of rotten stumps and to check that no roots are still alight, since they can hold heat and flare up after the fire looks dead. In Iowa State Extension's words, a burning stump can carry on for days and is tough to extinguish. Illinois Extension cautions that fuel poured on a stump can pollute the soil. Set a proper fire ring on bare ground, clear of stumps and roots, and check local burn rules first.
When the feature has had its day
Every decorated stump ends the same way: soft, hollow and a trip hazard. When that happens, it grinds quickly, because rotted wood offers little resistance to the wheel, though old stumps can hide stones, wire and the odd pot shard, so clear off the decorations and mention anything buried. Old and rotted stump grinding covers that job. If you are still deciding whether to keep a stump at all, should you leave a tree stump weighs it up, and how to stop stump sprouts covers suckers.
Common Questions
Can you make a fire pit out of a tree stump?
It is a bad idea. A stump fire can keep going for days and is hard to put out, according to Iowa State Extension, and the N.C. Forest Service tells people to keep fires clear of rotten stumps because roots can hold fire underground. Use a fire ring on bare ground away from stumps.
How do you hollow out a tree stump for a planter?
Drill a ring of holes into the top of the stump, then chisel or chop out the wood between them, leaving a thick outer wall. Drill drainage holes through the bottom of the hollow or out the side, line it with landscape fabric and fill with potting mix. Expect the hollowed stump to rot faster.
How long will a decorated tree stump last?
That depends on the wood, how wet it stays and whether it was hollowed. Iowa State Extension says stumps left to rot naturally can take ten years or more, but a stump that holds damp soil decays faster. Check the base each year and remove it when it turns soft.
What to Do Next
When the planter stump finally goes soft, a photo and your town are enough for a price: (828) 574-4474. How the grinding is done is on the stump grinding page.