Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

We are a little puzzled as to why the tree was initially removed and the roots ground out. According to our webpage on Betula nigra (River birch), this tree can grow from 30 to 90' in height and is a beautiful tree. Our webpage also says:

"Well-suited to areas that are periodically wet. Develops iron chlorosis on high pH soils. Chlorosis is more often due, however, to dryness. Trees in dry situations may defoliate, languish and die."

From the USDA Forest Service:

"The primary range of river birch is the southeastern quarter of the United States from eastern Texas and southeastern Iowa to Virginia and northern Florida. Scattered populations are found along rivers and streams as far north as southern Minnesota, central Wisconsin, and the middle New England States (8). Its northern limit in the Great Lakes region corresponds to the boundary of the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin glacier."

Our point to all of this is, why did the first River Birch have to be removed and its stump ground out? This USDA Plant Profile Map does not show the tree growing natively to Hennipin County, although it is reported in nearby Washington County. If there is a basic soil or soil moisture problem that caused the first tree to decline and be removed, those same conditons will still be present in that location and will not welcome the planting of the same tree. We would strongly recommend that you establish why the first tree came out before you plant another of the same type. If it was a soil, drainage, disease or moisture problem, those should be addressed before you spend the time and money putting the second one in.

We do not have any information on our website about stump grinding, so we went to this site from National Arborists: Stump Grinding. This makes no mention of how long you should wait after stump grinding before replanting.This member of the Mr. Smarty Plants Team has had one experience with stump grinding; this was in Central Texas where the soil does not freeze, as it probably does in Minnesota. This tree was an East Texas native, Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweetgum), which was a beautiful tree that had bright Fall foliage. However, it had very invasive roots that loved to live on the surface. As a result, it finally became necessary to eliminate the tree and replace the sidewalk and driveway that had been cracked by those roots. Once the tree and the grinder were gone we had so many other things to do that we left the bare empty bed exposed to the Texas heat for the summer. When Fall came with cooler weather, we dug into that dirt and discovered that the bed had become an improptu compost pile. The sawdust has spread out through the dirt and created a rich, easily worked soil. Because the tree was gone, there was plenty of sunlight for roses and other plants that needed lots of sun, which did beautifully. What we are saying is not to try to replant too quickly in that newly disturbed earth; let things settle down, get some water to it via sprinklers or rain and then stick your hand in and see what the texture is.

We do want to encourage you, though, to consult with a professonal arborist familiar with the plants, soils and climate of your area. If there was some disease present that killed the first birch, that arborist should be able to check the soil and make sure that disease is not still present to ambush the new plant.