A stump can be ground as soon as the tree is down, and booking it for soon after the tree work is usually the right call, before the stump has a growing season to sprout. Ask the tree crew to cut the stump low and flat and to clear the logs and brush from around it, then send a photo of the fresh cut with something for scale.
No need to wait for the stump to dry
A fresh stump does not need to season, dry out or rot before it is ground. The grinder cuts green wood and old wood alike. Fresh hardwood is a little tougher than a stump that has softened for years, but that small difference is not worth the cost of waiting. Many hardwood stumps start sprouting from buds at the base the next growing season, and a stump left for a year can arrive at grinding day ringed with saplings. The yard is also already disturbed from the tree work, so finishing the job while the area is still open makes sense.
Ask for a low, flat cut
The height of the stump the tree crew leaves makes a real difference to grinding. A stump cut low and level is the quickest to grind and the easiest to measure. A tall, angled or notched stump is more wood to chew through and harder to judge in a photo. Ask the crew before they start to cut the stump as close to the ground as they sensibly can without running the saw into dirt and rocks, which ruins a chain. A few inches above the soil is fine. If they have already left it tall, it can still be ground. Just say so when you ask for a quote.
What the tree crew should leave clear
The grinder needs to reach the stump and work all the way around it. Ask the tree crew to take the logs, rounds and brush away from the stump, or at least to stack them well clear, and not to leave the trunk lying across the route in from the drive or gate. Firewood rounds stacked against the stump are a common snag on grinding day. If you are keeping wood, decide where it goes before the tree comes down. Ruts from the tree crew's equipment are worth mentioning in your photos too, since they tell you how soft the ground is.
Booking the two jobs together
The simplest plan is to book the stump grinding for shortly after the tree work, while the area is still clear and nobody has started to replant or reseed. Tell the stump grinder the date the tree is due to come down, and send photos of the tree and the access then. A final photo once the stump is cut confirms the width. If several trees are coming down, have all the stumps ground in one visit. Tree still standing and not sure what the stump will need? Send a photo of the base of the trunk and ask.
Stumps that the tree crew treats with herbicide
Some tree crews treat the cut face of an invasive tree, such as tree-of-heaven or a Callery pear, with herbicide right after cutting to stop it sprouting from the stump and roots. Alabama Cooperative Extension explains that this cut-stump treatment should go on immediately after cutting, within a few minutes at most, and that the key area is the ring just inside the bark. If your crew did this, ask them what product they used and tell the stump grinder. The stump still needs grinding if you want the spot clear. Anyone using herbicide must follow the label.
Measure the stump while the cut is fresh
A freshly cut stump is the easiest one to measure. Lay a tape across the widest part of the cut face at ground level, including the flare where the trunk spreads into roots, and take a photo with the tape in place. Count the growth rings if you are curious, but width is what matters for the quote. Fresh cuts also show the wood clearly, so it is easy to tell a pine from an oak, and whether the center was hollow or rotten. Our page on stump measurements for quoting walks through the pictures that pin the number down.
When the tree came down in a storm
Storm trees are their own case. When wind tips a whole tree over, the roots tear up out of the ground in one slab, so what is left is not a flat cut but a wall of soil and roots with a pit beside it. If the tree crew cut the trunk off a blown-down tree, the root plate may be standing up with a short section of trunk still attached, or it may have dropped back into its hole. Either way it is usually lifted out rather than ground. Send a photo from the side so the size of the root plate is clear. Storm stump and root ball removal explains how those come out and what happens to the hole.
Common Questions
How low should the tree crew cut the stump before grinding?
As low and flat as they sensibly can without running the saw into soil and rocks. A few inches above the ground is fine. A low, level stump grinds faster and is easier to measure in a photo. A tall or angled stump can still be ground, but it is more wood to cut.
Should I wait for a stump to dry out before having it ground?
No. Fresh stumps grind fine, and fresh hardwood is only slightly tougher than old. Waiting gives many hardwoods a growing season to sprout from the base, so the stump arrives at grinding day surrounded by shoots. Booking the grinding soon after the tree work is usually the better plan.
What should the tree crew leave behind for the stump grinder?
A low, flat stump with clear ground around it. Logs, firewood rounds and brush should be taken away or stacked well clear, and the route from the drive or gate to the stump should be open. If they treated the cut face with herbicide, ask them which product they used.
What to Do Next
Tree work booked? Get the stump on the calendar for right after it. A picture of the trunk base, one of the route in and your town will do. Phone (828) 574-4474 or read the stump grinding overview.