Question
Jim, I live in Bozeman Montana and recently removed a weeping birch from my back yard.  The remains of the stump is about an inch high and I was wondering if I need to be concerned about the roots suckering?

Answer
Yes the stump will sprout either from the stump or the roots system. Spray the top of the stump with a herbicide called Roundup-the stump will carry the herbicide to the root system and kill the roots. Since it may have been a few days since the stump was cut and may not be fresh some of the roots may still sprout.

This is stored energy in the root system. The simplest way to kill these sprouts is with the use the Roundup on the foliage as they appear ( I would let them grow about 6-8 inch tall before I treated them). Normally I would say spray the herbicide on the foliage of these sprouts BUT since it sounds like the sprouts are in your lawn if you sprayed the roundup on the sprouts it would also kill the grass under the sprout. I would put on a rubber (plastic) glove and wet a rag with the Roundup and wipe the herbicide on the foliage of the sprouts this will keep the herbicide off the grass. The leaves will absorb the Roundup and transport it to the roots killing the sprouts. The glove is to keep the smell of the herbicide off your hands-the herbicide will not harm you if gotten on your hands.