When thinking about all the fun activities you can enjoy during the upcoming summer season, how many of those activities can your front garden, backyard, and other green spaces around your home support? Getting your yard ready for the summer means clearing it, particularly if there are unsightly or problematic tree stumps in the way. Here are a few tips for clearing your yard so that it becomes the center of family fun this summer.
Why Tree Stumps Must Go First
If you want a nicely landscaped yard in time for the summer, your best bet is to start working on it during early spring. Stump removal should be at the top of your list of things to do.
You generally don’t want to keep stumps. The only exception is when they have been treated and finished to serve as permanent yard fixtures. Some stumps with large diameters can be turned into seating areas while others can become decorative surfaces to put planters on. However, the condition of the stump must be determined by an arborist before treatment.
Tree stumps that do not provide ornamental value can eventually turn into backyard headaches. When left unattended for a few weeks, stumps can create tripping hazards, especially for young children and older adults who may not see them easily.
In addition, rotting stumps can become uneven and unstable, creating a potential fall risk. There’s also the problem with pest infestations when stumps begin to decay and provide nourishment for insects, fungus, and assorted critters that can ruin your backyard summer enjoyment.
Removing Tree Stumps Before or During Summer
During the drier days of summer, soil is generally firmer and easier to dig in. This can speed up the stump removal process and potentially reduce damage to your yard. You don’t have to wait until summer, but you don’t want to remove stumps in the middle of the rainy season when the ground is saturated. Doing so may create sinkhole conditions.
If other trees are growing on your property, you don’t want to damage their root system when removing nearby stumps. Summer is typically when nearby trees have finished their major growth spurt, so removing a stump during this time minimizes the risk of disturbing the root systems of surrounding trees. Taking care of stumps when the ground is dry allows it to settle optimally. The opposite happens when you are dealing with heavy rainfall.
To get more information or schedule a consultation for summer stump removal in Vancouver, WA, contact Reyes Tree Service LLC today.
