Do not backfill with the chips. That is the whole lesson

A ground stump produces a surprising volume of material, usually noticeably more than the hole it came out of, because ground wood takes up more space than solid wood. So you are left with a mound of chips sitting over a void.

The instinct is to rake the chips into the hole and be done. It is the wrong move, and it is the single most common reason people end up with a dead patch where a tree used to be.

Decomposing wood consumes nitrogen from the surrounding soil as it breaks down. Fill the hole with chips and seed grass over the top, and the grass and the rotting wood compete for the same nitrogen for the next two or three years. The wood wins. You get a sunken, yellowish patch that never quite establishes, and it takes years to resolve itself.

What to do instead. Rake the chips off the hole entirely. Backfill with topsoil, slightly proud of the surrounding level, because it will settle. Then seed or turf as normal. If you want to be thorough, mix a little of the existing soil in so the fill is not a visibly different material.

The chips themselves are useful. Spread as mulch around shrubs or beds they are perfectly good, free, and exactly what you would otherwise buy by the bag. The nitrogen point applies to soil, not to mulch sitting on the surface. Keep them a few inches clear of the trunks of anything living.

If you do not want them, most crews will haul them off for an extra charge. It is worth asking about before the job rather than looking at the pile afterwards and negotiating then.

Expect to top it up. Even backfilled correctly, the ground over a removed stump settles for a year or two as the remaining roots decay underneath. Adding a bit more topsoil the following spring is normal and not a sign anything went wrong.

And the thing people ask most: no, do not plant a new tree in the same hole. The old root mass is still there and still decaying. Either plant a few feet to one side, or have the stump fully extracted rather than ground in the first place.

More on stumps

• Yes, but the distance to your house is what matters A rotting stump near a Georgia house is a genuine termite question, but not for the reason most people assume. What actually matters and what does not.
• It means the stump is decaying, which is what you want Fungus on a stump looks alarming and usually is not. What it tells you about the wood, when it matters for nearby trees, and when it is worth acting on.
• Most of the internet advice on this is wrong Epsom salt, burning, stump killer, renting a grinder. An honest look at each, including the two that genuinely work and the conditions they need.
• Any month works. Some months cost less Grinding works year round in north Georgia, but scheduling, price and ground conditions all move with the season. When to book and when to wait.
• Where the trunk stood decides it, not where the branches were Whose stump is it when the tree straddled a boundary, what Georgia practice generally holds, and the practical way neighbours sort it out.

By tree

• Loblolly pine
• Sweetgum
• Water oak
• Bradford pear
• Leyland cypress
• Crepe myrtle
• River birch

Stump services

• Full stump removal
• Grinding vs removal
• Large stump grinding
• Multiple stumps
• Surface root removal
• Storm damage stumps
• Grinding before a fence, pool or driveway