Question
QUESTION: Hi,

We moved into a house with 3 Bradford pears in the back yard (~ 20 years old).  We would like to remove them and plant Kousa dogwoods in their place.  We've had an arborist come in and he said he could grind the stumps, however, I'm not sure how effective this will be with respect to providing adequate rooting for the dogwoods.  So, I guess I'd like to know what the rootig habit of Bradford Pears is.  Do they have a main tap root or more branching roots?  Are they more of a deep or superficial rooter?

Thanks for your help!

ANSWER: They will resprout from the roots. Instead of grinding the stumps right away I would paint the freshly cut stumps with a herbicide called Roundup. The stump will absorb the herbicide and transport it to the roots system killing the system. After about a couple of weeks then you can grind the stumps. If you do get sprouts.
Treat the sprouts with the  Roundup. You can either spray the foliage with the Roundup or if there is grass under the sprouts you can wipe the Roundup on the leaves of the sprouts. Roundup will kill any plant that is green so make sure you do not get it on a plant that you do not want killed. If you wipe the leaves put on plastic gloves and wet a rag with the Roundup and wipe the rag on the leaves. The gloves are to keep the smell of the Roundup off your hands.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the advice re: Roundup.  I'll probably give that a go.  But, at this point, I'd like to know more about the rooting habit/architecture of Bradford Pear (to know how far down I may need to go to remove the root ball).  Is Bradford Pear a tap root (deeP or diffuse root tree (superficial)?

THanks,

Answer
It has a diffuse root system with some tap like roots under the stump. The main system of roots is spread out about 1 1/2 the width of the limbs and within the first 18-24 inches of the ground surface. You can possibly dig the roots at the stump itself but the feeder roots that spread out would be almost impossible to dig them all out. The Roundup will take care of them and they will decay over time.