On Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:14:36 -0700 (PDT), Dorothy Iams
wrote:

I so wish some one can help me with this awful problem. About 4 years
ago I had to have a huge Norway Maple cut down on my front lawn. (A
strong windstorm had blown most of the branches down onto my roof and
porch.) The wood cutter at my request left wood chips in the hole
left by grinding down the stump. I didnt know that was the wrong
thing to do.

Actually that is usual and what stump grinders typically do, if you're
lucky... some just leave a mess. You need to be patient, it can take
up to ten years for a large maple stump to totally decay. If you can
cover the area with a large planter or even a table, something to
shade and keep it moist the stump will decay quicker.

I filled the remainder with soil and compost.

Could be those additions are what harbored those fungi spores,
especially since you never saw them previously... where did the soil
and compost come from? Sometimes decaying stumps will act as a host
for spores already present... not anything you can do about that. It's
near impossible to eliminate fungi, anything you do to rid the area of
them will prevent anything else from growing there.... it's best to
let them simply run their course, many appear only every so many
years... perhaps those that popped up will be gone once the stump is
completely composted. Typically fungi fruiting bodies are very short
lived, they will probably be gone in a few days. It's difficult to
believe that you can't get anything to grow in a spot *near* where a
healthy maple was growing... naturally you are not going to get much
else but a few weeds to grow atop the stump and the immediate
surrounding area, the roots will extend quite a distance from the
stump. Unless you are willing to call in a backhoe to dig up the
entire stump and root system and till in amendments to the whole area
then you will just need to wait. I had a very large crimson king
Norway maple removed some seven years ago and still grass won't grow
atop the stump during dry spells... I just don't look at it... I think
of it as a couple square feet of lawn I don't need to mow. Be
thankful it's maple and not cedar. I planted a copper leafed beech
some 20 feet away and it's doing great.

snip
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardarc...7622244145345/