Question
I had 30 year old forsythia removed from an area of about15 feet x60feet. How do I get rid of the mass of fine roots left behind !??? It's almost a solid mass & I want to plant a few shrubs. Can any chemical be applied to hasten rotting ?
                                        Thank you

Answer
Hey there!!

Wow.. thirty years old?!  Well, once and shrub gets that old, the roots and trunk definitely become "tree like".  That being said, you have to take tree-like action.  You can use root-rot chemicles but expect a year for the expected outcome to take effect.  Beside that, you can hack away at it with a pickel (or pick-axe)... sharpen it really good with a grinder and it will act as an axe.  However, after 30 years...I'm imagining needing an actual stump grinder.  Expect to pay from $8-$10 per in diameter to remove the stump...then ask them to "chase down the roots" with the stump grinder.  If it really big you can get a deal on it.  Depending on the size, you could spend between $80-$300 on having it completely removed.  

If you really want to save some money, drill a bunch of holes vertically into the stump with a 3/8 dia. drill bit, pour in the root-rot which you can get at home depot... then use a sharpened pick axe to remove the surrounding roots...enough so you can get your shrubs in there.  Cover up the existing stump with some soil and mulch the whole area... and it should look great- and in a year you should be able to yank out the stump!

Good luck Ross!  --That's what I would do.

--Brandon Swisher
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