Tree surgery includes, but is not limited to, the felling of unhealthy and unwanted trees – following health and safety guidelines to a tee to protect workers, residents, local properties, and other structures throughout a garden or outside space. But what happens when the tree has been felled, and the main body of the trunk removed?
It’s easy to look at a tree stump as a harmless feature in an outside space, creating levels and a diverse habitat for local wildlife. However, that tree stump could be doing more harm than good.
As we dive into the role of a professional tree surgeon in Essex, here are three of the most important reasons to remove a dead and rotting tree stump.
1. Potentially Dangerous Physical Obstacle
Typically, a tree stump is not very tall – sitting just a few centimetres off the ground. While you may think you know where it is and feel that you can spot and avoid it when navigating the garden, it only takes a small amount of grass growth to hide the stump and turn it into a hazardous hidden obstacle.
Both your family and visitors to your garden are at risk of accidents, trips, and grazes when you leave tree stumps in place for them to stumble into or over. The best way to minimise this risk is to safely remove stumps and restore even ground.
2. Stumps Can Drain Nutrients in the Soil
Tree stumps may look dead, but often, when left in place, they start to foster and support new growth in the form of shoots. These shoots rob the nearby soil of nutrients, having a detrimental impact on the nutrient density for other surrounding plants and wildlife.
Unplanned growth from your abandoned tree stump can also impede on plans you had to use the space, and can negatively impact your ability to use that ground for other plant life.
3. They Make Maintenance More Difficult
Last but not least, a tree stump isn’t just a potential trip hazard – it’s also an obstacle to quick and easy garden maintenance. When you leave rotten tree stumps in the ground, you have to carry out maintenance work around them, thereby reducing the ease and accessibility of tasks like mowing, weeding, and pruning.
Tree stumps can also become home to wildlife you may not want in your garden, including all sorts of species of fungi and countless insects. While some areas of nature may thank you, in the grand scheme of things, a tree stump becomes an obstacle you don’t need or want in your garden.
Which is where local tree surgeons come in. Not only can tree surgeons safely fell unwanted trees, but they can also remove the stump – removing all the above challenges and leaving you with some extra ground space to enjoy.
