Tumbleweed wrote:

"Akkerman's Plektrum" wrote in message
...
I chainsawed my (inherited) conifers to within 4" of the ground. What now?
Will they stop growing or do I need to do something else to kill the
roots?
I'm sure some people move house because they have lost control over their
conifers!!

They'll stop growing and rot. Eventually. But sawing down to that level has
removed you of the chnce to use leverage to help get the roots out if you
dig around them. You are probably better off either chainsawing again just
to ground level, or getting someone with a stump grinder to dig them out
(expensive). A tree (not conifer) that I dug out but left some of the roots
3 years ago has just rotted to the stage where they can be easily dug out.I
suspect with conifer wood it will take longer for them to rot.

Apple and pear tree roots certainly do. I have one still there after more than
10 years. It grows some spectacular fungi at this time of year. Adding a bit of
nitrogen feed will encourage it to rot. Ammonium sulphamate sold as rootout is
more or less a weedkiller that decays to a high nitrogen feed. It is quite
effective against stubborn tree roots that want to regrow and sucker.

Regards,
Martin Brown