| It's such a bummer to lose a mature tree. First the silver maple in the front, now the birch in the back. It was already dying when I moved in, dropping branches each year, and last winter it finally gave up the ghost. Finding someone to take it down wasn't hard; I've used Rushton Tree Service before. They're quite affordable. (If I were trying to save a tree, I might shop around more for an arborist, but cutting one down is not rocket surgery.) |  |
Getting rid of the stump was another story. (Yes, it's the one where I photographed the giant wasp.) Rushton's grinder is the size of a golf cart, on treads.
It would destroy all the ground cover I'd recently planted along the path, and is too heavy for the patio flagstones. I needed a smaller grinder.The first guy said he'd do it when he had a bunch of orders together. Well, more than a month later, I finally got ahold of him again. "Oh, I forgot. But I can come today!" Then he didn't show up. (That was Tom at All Area Tree Care, if you're shopping around. Don't call him.)
The next company, ArborScape, had an estimator out, scheduled for a week later, and when the guys showed up, they said, "Uh, our small grinder broke, so we have to use the big one." Oh no you don't.
The third place had a picture of a small grinder on their website, but didn't actually own one. They referred me at last to Stump Removal & Daughter, who came out and did the job the day after I called. |  |
So if you're looking for stump removal in the Denver area, we heartily recommend:Michael Rios
720-495-1124
Tomorrow: A new tree
Just came over from the NaBloWriMo site, and wanted to let you know I love your blog and will be returning!
ReplyDeleteHappy NaBloWriMo.....
ReplyDeletethanks for dropping in on thefeatherednest
We had a stump removed not so long ago and I do believe they had the small grinder. If the stump had been in the middle of a garden I would have just left it to rot..surprisingly it doesn't take all that long.
Sorry you've been losing trees! It's so sad. Here, tree work costs a fortune, so the trick is, plant it within 10 feet of the street and the city considers them CITY trees and will care for free... (true story, but then, it isn't Ann ARBOR for nothing)
ReplyDeleteI am anti-silver maple - had four removed from my yard several years ago. They grow fast but the roots are disruptive and the whirlybird seeds a pain to clean out of gutters and off decks. Still, I was sorry to lose the shade. I like birch but they do not do well here, so I planted our state tree - tulip poplar. Hope your next tree(s) do better!
ReplyDeleteOur neighbor recently had to cut his birch tree down. I'm sorry to lose the shade it provided, but it was dying and I was tired of picking up the neighbors branches out of my yard, lol. He didn't bother grinding the tree stump...it's still in his yard. Maybe he'll make it into a planter? Anyway, hope you enjoy your new tree!
ReplyDeleteDonna
Sorry to hear about your tree woes. We recently just had a bunch of dead/dying ones removed. I hate losing trees--cause it takes them sooooo long to grow!
ReplyDeleteJulie
Thanks, Bella!
ReplyDeleteDelores, this one was already pretty rotted on one side, but I wanted to get it out so I could plant another tree next to where it was, and it's in a fairly visible location. Otherwise I would've left it.
Hart, if only that were the case here! The city owns the land next to the street, but it's the homeowner's responsibility to care for the trees there, including removal and planting (though they do have a program that offers free or cheap trees).
Abby, silver maples were planted all along many of the streets here maybe 100 years ago, and now they're all dying. One the one hand, they are great honeybee habitat, but they also can be quite a hazard now. I'm a big fan of lindens. We have some poplars, but they are not common.
Thanks, Donna! Birches are nice, but they sure are messy when they start to fail.
Julie, my thought exactly!