Phisherman wrote:

I girdled a 50-foot elm tree early winter 2006. It leafed out in
spring. Suddenly in June (9 months later), it dropped all of its
leaves. I guess the draught helped it along. I drilled several deep
1" holes in the stump and keep these filled with 34-0-0 fertilizer.
The stump is beginning to rot as it consumes the nitrogen. I guess it
will take at least until next spring to completely remove the stump.
Looking back, it is better just to cut the tree down, than to girdle
it. I think the OP will benefit from a nice pair of double-hinged
loppers.

If you look at the research about chemicals to make stumps rot, the
apparent thing that works is the drilling of holes. The chemicals put
into the holes seem to have little effect. Drilling holes that allow
air and water into the stump accelerate decomposition. Putting nitrogen
fertilizer into those holes will help a little more the first year. In
subsequent years, the addition of sugar is better.

Many chemical stump removers include directions to burn the stump. If
you do this, it is best to keep lots of fire wood to keep the fire
going. Once the fire gets underground, it retains heat and burns rather
well but very slowly and produces lots of carbon monoxide.
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