What to Do After Stump Grinding: Your Complete Step-by-Step Guide

After stump grinding, you're left with a pile of wood chips and a hole in your yard. What you do next determines whether that spot blends seamlessly into your lawn or becomes an eyesore. We've helped thousands of Hampton Roads homeowners through this process, and here's exactly what to do after your stump is ground down.

Step 1: Clean Up the Wood Chips

Stump grinding produces a large volume of wood chips mixed with soil. A medium-sized stump can generate enough chips to fill several wheelbarrows. You have three good options for dealing with them:

Use Them as Mulch

Wood chips from stump grinding make excellent mulch for garden beds, around trees, and along walkways. Spread them 2-3 inches thick to suppress weeds and retain moisture. Just keep them a few inches away from plant stems and house foundations.

Remove Them Entirely

If you want to plant grass or install landscaping in that spot, you'll need to remove most of the chips. Shovel them into a wheelbarrow and relocate them or bag them for disposal. Your local Hampton Roads transfer station accepts yard waste.

Compost Them

Add the wood chips to your compost pile. They're high in carbon, so mix them with nitrogen-rich green materials like grass clippings to speed decomposition. They'll break down in 6-12 months.

Step 2: Fill the Hole

After removing the wood chips, you'll have a hole that's typically 6-12 inches deep (or deeper for large stumps). Here's how to fill it properly:

1. Remove remaining wood debris - Pick out large chunks of wood and root fragments from the hole
2. Fill with quality topsoil - Use a loam-based topsoil, not pure sand or clay. In Hampton Roads, you can find good topsoil at local landscape supply yards
3. Overfill by 2-3 inches - The soil will settle over the next few weeks, so mound it slightly above grade
4. Tamp firmly - Use a hand tamper or your feet to compact the soil and eliminate air pockets
5. Water thoroughly - Soaking the soil helps it settle naturally and reduces future sinking

Step 3: Plant Grass or Landscaping

Once the hole is filled and settled, it's time to restore the area. The best approach depends on what was there before and what you want going forward.

When to Plant

In Virginia, timing matters for grass seed success:

• Cool-season grasses (fescue, bluegrass): Plant in early fall (September - October) for best results, or early spring (March - April)
• Warm-season grasses (Bermuda, zoysia): Plant in late spring to early summer (May - June) when soil temperatures are consistently warm

Best Grass Seed for Virginia

Hampton Roads falls in the transition zone between warm and cool-season grasses. Tall fescue is the most popular choice because it handles our hot summers and mild winters well. Bermuda grass is a good option if you want a warm-season lawn that goes dormant in winter.

Planting a Garden Bed Instead

If you'd rather not grow grass, the filled stump site makes an excellent spot for a garden bed or shrub planting. The decaying roots below will actually add nutrients to the soil over time. Add 4-6 inches of quality garden soil and compost before planting.

Step 4: Watch for Regrowth

Some tree species are persistent and may send up sucker shoots from the remaining root system. This is especially common with:

• Crepe myrtles
• Willows
• Elms
• Poplars
• Silver maples
• Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus)

How to Handle Sucker Shoots

If you see new green shoots popping up from the ground near where the stump was, don't panic. Simply cut them at ground level as soon as they appear. Without leaves to produce energy, the root system will eventually exhaust its stored reserves and stop sending up new growth. This may take a few months of consistent cutting.

Step 5: Check for Root Decay

The roots left underground after stump grinding will naturally decompose over time. Here's what to expect:

Decay Timeline

• Small roots (under 2 inches): 2-4 years to fully decompose
• Medium roots (2-6 inches): 4-7 years
• Large roots (6+ inches): 7-10+ years

Signs of Root Decay

As roots decay, you may notice:

• Soft or spongy spots in your lawn above root paths
• Slight depressions forming along where major roots ran
• Mushrooms growing in a pattern radiating from the old stump location

These are all normal and temporary. Fill any depressions with topsoil as they appear.

Step 6: When to Call a Pro

Most stump grinding aftercare is straightforward DIY work, but there are situations where you should call in professional help:

• Uneven settling that won't stabilize - This could indicate a large root void underground that needs to be addressed
• Persistent regrowth despite cutting - Some species need professional-grade herbicide treatment
• Fungal issues spreading to other plants - Decaying roots can sometimes harbor fungi that affect nearby trees
• Planning to build over the area - If you're installing a patio, shed, or fence, you may need the area excavated to remove remaining roots

Complete After-Stump-Grinding Checklist

1. Remove or redistribute wood chips within the first week
2. Fill the hole with quality topsoil, mounded 2-3 inches above grade
3. Tamp and water the soil thoroughly
4. Wait 2-3 weeks for initial settling, add more soil if needed
5. Plant grass seed or install landscaping at the appropriate season
6. Monitor for sucker shoots for 3-6 months, cutting them as they appear
7. Fill any depressions that form over root paths during the first 1-2 years