"P Verstege" wrote in message
om...
Hello. I chopped down a huge overgrown conifer, leaving a stump about
10" high and obviously a lot of roots. It is in an awkward spot so
grinding it out is not an option. I was thinking about burning it and
the roots out. However, there are a few other well-established trees
around that spot, and you can probably see where I'm going here. I'll
spell out my question anyway:

In burning out the roots of my felled conifer, is there a risk of
burning all the other live tree roots in the vicinity?

It's not at all easy to "burn out" a tree stump - I have tried. You need to
apply a very fierce flame due to the amount of sap and surrounding damp
soil. It's most unlikely to burn strongly enough to affect other trees.
The only way they may be damaged is if you apply too much flammable material
to get it going.

Better (and safer) to dig out as much as you can and then apply chemical
stump remover.

- Arthur