Question
Jim,

I'm in the S.F. bay area, and last year a decent sized (about 18" diam.)Coast Live Oak fell over. It was at the top of the hill behind our house, right at the edge of a small paved road that is above us, and on a fairly steep(difficult to  hike up) slope.  The fallen tree was removed, and the stump was cut as low as possible, but not ground out.  This was partially to save money, but also to leave roots intact to provide some continued erosion control, until new trees and shrubs can develop a root system.  The resulting stump is essentially sideways with the uphill part of its crown erupted out of the ground, as it fell. We plan to dig the raised soil away from top of the mound, and try to restore the grade as much as possible, filling in any voids uphill and around the stump.  My question:  Is there a problem with planting a new tree, a California Buckeye, close by ( in this case about 5 or 6 ft. down hill from) the oak stump? Are there likely issues with fungi, insects, or other decay processes with the oak that would adversely affect the buckeye?  The new tree won't be right up close to the paved road uphill of it, like the oak was, but with some unpaved space all around it.

Thanks in advance, Ron

Answer
There will not be a problem with fungi or insects that maybe growing in the dead roots. But you may have a problem hitting the roots of the stump and this may not allow the tree to be planted right where you want it. But the only way to find out is dig and see. Sounds like a good plan to me.