You can leave a tree stump where it is if it sits at the wooded edge of the property, is not sprouting, and nobody mows, walks or builds near it. Grind it out if it is in the lawn, close to the house, throwing up shoots, or left by a tree that died of root disease, because a stump left alone takes many years to rot and causes trouble the whole time.
When leaving a stump is a sensible choice
Plenty of stumps can simply stay. A pine stump at the back of a wooded lot, a stump in a natural area you never mow, or one along a woods trail is doing no harm. It may even be doing some good. Penn State Extension describes rotting logs and stumps as shelter for insects, salamanders, snakes, mice and shrews, and as feeding spots that woodpeckers come back to again and again. If the stump is out of the way and you like a wild corner, leaving it is a fair decision. Just make it a decision, and know what the stump will do over the next few years.
What a stump does while it sits there
It rots, slowly, from the outside in. Small stumps of soft wood can be gone in a few years. A big oak or hickory stump can still be firm a decade later. Meanwhile three things tend to happen. Many hardwood stumps sprout: a ring of shoots comes up from buds at the base the spring after the cut, and left alone it becomes a thicket. Fungi move in, so mushrooms show up after rain. And the softening wood draws insects, carpenter ants in particular. Pines are the exception on sprouting. A pine stump stays dead and simply decays.
Where a stump costs you
In a lawn a stump is a fixed object in the mowing path. You trim around it every week, and sooner or later a mower blade finds the roots spreading out from its base. In long grass it becomes a trip hazard, and the low ones are the worst because nobody sees them. Near the house it is a different worry: a damp, rotting stump close to a foundation, deck or shed is the kind of wood carpenter ants and termites use. Do stumps attract termites covers that risk in plain terms. And a stump in the spot where you want a bed, a play set or a parking pad simply blocks the plan.
Stumps from trees that died of root rot
If the tree died of a root disease, think twice before leaving the stump. Armillaria root rot is the common one. University of Minnesota Extension notes that the fungus can survive many years in an old stump or root system, and that its black, shoestring-like strands can spread up to ten feet through the soil to reach the roots of nearby trees. Its advice for infected trees is to remove the stumps and as many roots as possible. Grinding takes the stump itself out, but it leaves the roots, so where there are valuable trees close by, ask about lifting the root ball out whole instead.
A quick test for your own stump
Ask five questions. Do you mow or walk within a few feet of it? Is it close to the house, a deck or an outbuilding? Is it sprouting, or was it a species known for coming back, such as a sweetgum, a Bradford pear or a tulip poplar? Did the tree die of disease? Will that ground be used for anything in the next few years? If every answer is no, leaving it costs you nothing. If one answer is yes, grinding it now is usually less trouble than living with it. Two or more yes answers and the case is made.
Keeping a stump on purpose
Some people keep a stump as a seat, a table, a planter or a base for a bird bath. That works, with two cautions. First, the stump keeps rotting under whatever you put on it, and a hollowed-out planter holds water and rots faster still. Second, a stump that is still alive will keep sprouting around your project until it is dead. Cut it flat and level, keep the shoots clipped, and accept that you have a few years, not forever. Decorating or reusing a tree stump has ideas and the practical limits of each one.
If you leave it now and change your mind later
Nothing is lost by waiting, apart from the sprouts getting bigger. An older stump that has softened is often quicker to grind than a fresh one, because the wood is weaker. What waiting does change is the ground around it. Shoots turn into saplings, roots heave the turf, and a stump at the edge of the woods gets swallowed by brush and briars, which then have to be cleared to reach it. When the time comes, old and rotted stump grinding deals with stumps that have sat for years, including the half-hollow ones.
Common Questions
Is it bad to leave a tree stump in your yard?
Not always. A stump at the wooded edge of a lot that nobody mows near can stay. It becomes a problem in the lawn, near the house, when it sprouts, or when the tree died of root rot. In those cases a stump left alone keeps causing work for years while it slowly decays.
How many years does a tree stump take to rot away on its own?
Several years for a small softwood stump, and often ten or more for a large hardwood such as oak. Size, species, shade and moisture all change it. Throughout that time the stump may sprout, grow mushrooms and draw insects, which is why most people in a lawn would rather have it ground out.
Can I leave the stump of a tree that died from root rot?
It is a risk if other trees you care about are close by. Extension plant pathologists say Armillaria can live in an old stump and its roots for years and spread through the soil to neighboring trees. Their advice is to take out the stump and as many roots as possible, so ask about full removal there.
What to Do Next
Not sure it is worth it? A photo of the stump and its surroundings, plus your town, gets you an honest yes or no on grinding. Ring (828) 574-4474, or start with the stump grinding page.