After stump removal: settling, sod and replanting.

Will the stump site settle?

Yes, some. Flatirons takes out as much wood as possible and leaves as much dirt as possible, so the spot is usually finished slightly raised and close to grade. Small air pockets fill in with time and water, which usually leaves a mild dip. Level it with dirt or topsoil.

Leaving the dirt and taking the wood matters for what you plant next. The usual stump grinding method leaves a lot of wood debris in the soil, and that can keep anything from growing there for years.

Can I plant grass or lay sod?

Yes. Soak the spot first, let it settle, top it with soil, and use a nitrogen fertilizer made for new grass.

• Water the site well for at least several days, once or twice to the point of a soupy bog.
• If you have time, give it a week or two so it settles as much as it's going to. You don't want it sinking after the sod is down.
• Add topsoil to level any dip, and mix in a new-grass fertilizer with nitrogen.
• Seed or lay sod, following your supplier's instructions.

Why the nitrogen: leftover wood chips break down over time and feed the new grass, but while they decompose they pull nitrogen out of the soil. A new-grass fertilizer makes up for it. Regular lawn fertilizer is too strong and will burn the roots of new grass.

Can I replant a tree in the same spot?

Yes. Say so when you send your stump photo, and the stump is removed with replanting in mind.

The soil where the stump was ends up much like freshly tilled ground, depending on your soil. Scoop out the dirt and follow your nursery's planting instructions. It's worth asking them about mycorrhizae, a root fungus that some believe helps new roots establish; many of Flatirons' partner tree companies swear by it.

For $65 with any stump removal, Jerry will also use the grinder to cut a planting hole 45 inches across and 15 inches deep wherever you mark it, so you skip the pick-axe work through old roots.

Will sprouts grow back from the roots?

You shouldn't see sprouts from where the stump was. Roots elsewhere in the yard can still try to send up shoots.

Elms, poplars such as aspens, some fruit trees, tree of heaven and black locust are the most stubborn. In a lawn, keep mowing the shoots down. Without the stump and root ball, they have to make it on their own, and most can't.

If you're open to an herbicide, a ready-to-use product applied to fresh-cut sprouts is an option. Follow the label exactly, and don't use it near aspens or other poplars, which can share a root system with trees more than 50 feet away.

What happens to the mulch?

With standard service it's piled for you to use in beds and gardens. With haul-away, it leaves with the truck for $4 per inch of stump diameter or less on most stumps.