stump grindings for mulch

[kennertree]

I ground a few stumps for a guy today and he asked me if he could use the grindings as mulch. He said he wants to put it around a few plants in his flower beds. Is stump grindings ok to use as mulch? Ive always heard that it has too much acid in it or something like that and it will kill plants. Just wanted to find out from someone who knows something about it before i tell him its ok or not ok. Thanks alot. Zack

 

[Ekka]

All depends on what you were grinding.

If it was palms it would become too acidic, if it were camphor laurel it could be toxic etc.

In general it would be OK, but like I said it depends on what you ground and how much soil content there is in the mulch as well, sometimes it's better to let it age a few weeks.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

What killed the tree? Verticilium Wilt or some root rots are bad to spread around.

 

[kennertree]

i think what actually killed the tree that i ground the stump on was a girdling root. The root wrapped all the way around the base of the stump. He said it had been in decline for a few years. It also had some sap that was bleeding out from the trunk. The tree was a red maple.

 

[treeseer]

The root wrapped all the way around the base of the stump. The tree was a red maple.

This condition is as common as dirt. Please take a picture next time if you can. Many landscape tree problems I am called to are nursery defects, trees trained as babies to strangle themselves.

The more pictures/documentation we get and show them, the sooner the nursery industry may change.

Above responses re mulching with these chips is good. follow the Proper Mulching Techniques found in the link below.

 

[kennertree]

Treeseer, actually i think my wife got some pics of it. I'll ask and try to find them on here and i'll post them if i can find them. thanks for the link.

 

[kennertree]

stump pics

Don't know how these pics are going to turn out. I dont have the best camera in the world but hopefully you'll be able to see it pretty good.

 

[treeseer]

Kenner you gotta scratch away more dirt so the roots can be seen. The lack of flare does indicate a big problem, but it's easy to dig a little and document it.

 

[kennertree]

I did a little, but with the camera i had it seems to blend in and ya cant tell how bad it was. That root wrapped almost all the way around the tree.