Yes, you can remove a tree stump yourself. A small, shallow-rooted stump can be dug out by hand in an afternoon or a weekend. Bigger stumps are another matter: they either take months or years to rot away, with or without stump rotter, or they need a machine. Nothing gets rid of a large stump in two or three days except stump grinding or an excavator. Here is what each DIY method actually involves in a New Zealand garden, how long it takes, and where it stops being worth the effort.
Quick answer: the methods compared
| Method | Works on | Time | Cost (incl. GST) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dig out by hand | Small, shallow-rooted stumps | An afternoon to a weekend | Tools only | Good for small stumps |
| Hire a grinder | Small to medium stumps, lawn depth | Half a day | About $125–$280 hire | Worth it for several small stumps |
| Stump rotter (potassium nitrate) | Dead stumps you can wait on | Months, often a year or more | Low | Slow; follow the label |
| Epsom salt | — | Unclear | Low | Little evidence it removes a stump |
| Burning | Rural land only, where allowed | Days, repeated | Low | Not allowed in urban Auckland |
| Leave it to decay | Out-of-the-way stumps | Years, often a decade or more | Free | Fine if it isn’t in the way |
| Professional grinding | Any size | Usually under an hour | $175–$500 | Fastest |
On this page
How to dig out a small tree stump by hand
Digging out is realistic for small stumps from shrubs and young trees, roughly up to the width of a dinner plate, especially where the roots are shallow. It is hard physical work rather than a skilled job: you expose the roots, cut them, and lever the stump free. Larger stumps have a root plate that is heavy, wide and well anchored, and they fight back.
Check for services
Before the first spadeful, lodge an enquiry with beforeUdig to see where cables and pipes run. Private lines are your job: sprinkler pipes, outdoor lights and stormwater drains often sit right beside a garden stump.
Dig a trench around the stump
Work in a ring a spade’s width or so out from the stump, and go down until the main roots are exposed.
Cut the roots
Use a mattock, loppers or a root saw. Soil and grit dull an axe quickly, so it is the wrong tool for roots in the ground.
Work under the root plate
Keep digging and cutting underneath until the stump starts to move.
Rock it free
Lever the stump back and forth with a crowbar or the remaining trunk, cutting any roots that still hold, until it lifts out.
Backfill and firm the hole
Fill with soil in layers and firm each one so the spot doesn’t sink later.
Tools: a spade, a mattock, a root saw or loppers, and a crowbar. Wear gloves and eye protection, take breaks, and lift with your legs. If the tree is still standing and you plan to dig it out, leaving a length of trunk on the stump gives you a handle to rock it with, a tip the Royal Horticultural Society also gives.
How to rot a tree stump faster
A stump rots faster when it stays damp, is in contact with soil, and gives wood-decay fungi an easy way in. Stump rotter granules, which are potassium nitrate, add nitrogen that those fungi need, and that can speed the process up. Even so, expect months at the very least and often a year or more, and you will still need to dig or chop out the softened wood at the end.
Stump rotter granules (potassium nitrate)
Potassium nitrate is a nitrogen-rich salt sold in New Zealand garden centres and hardware stores as stump rotter. It doesn’t dissolve the wood. It feeds the fungi and other organisms that break the stump down, so the wood gradually softens and becomes easier to break up. Use it only as the product label tells you, including how to apply it and how much.
Timelines on packaging vary. Larger stumps and hardwoods often take a year or more, and one US university extension guide puts chemical stump removers at one to three years before the stump can be broken up with a spade. Potassium nitrate is an oxidiser, so store it away from fuels and anything flammable, keep it away from children and pets, and wash your hands after handling it.
Epsom salt
Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, sold as a garden fertiliser. It is often recommended online for stump removal, but extension advisers who have looked for supporting research haven’t found any. It may help dry out a freshly cut stump; there is little evidence it rots one. Between the two, stump rotter has the clearer mechanism, but neither is fast.
Stump-killer herbicides
Herbicides sold for cut stumps are for stopping regrowth, not for removing the stump. They are applied to a freshly cut surface so the roots don’t send up new shoots. Use a product registered for that use and follow the label exactly. Keep it well away from drains, waterways and the roots of plants you want to keep.
Natural ways to speed decay
Without chemicals, the aim is to keep the stump moist and alive with fungi. Cut it as low as practical, drill holes into the top to let water in, and heap soil, compost or mulch over it. A stump in a damp, shaded spot covered with organic matter breaks down far sooner than one sitting dry and exposed in full sun.
Can you burn a tree stump in Auckland?
Not in urban Auckland. Auckland Council’s outdoor fire rules say open fires can’t be lit anywhere in the urban area, including all residential and business land, and garden waste can’t be burned. On rural land, check the council rules for your address and the current fire season on Fire and Emergency’s checkitsalright.nz before lighting anything.
Even where it is allowed, burning a stump is a poor method. A stump can smoulder underground along its roots for days and flare up well away from where the fire was lit, and charred wood resists further decay. Never use petrol, diesel or kerosene on a stump.
Can you get rid of a stump in 2–3 days?
Only with a machine, or by digging out a small one. A stump grinder takes most residential stumps below ground in under an hour, and an excavator lifts a stump and its main roots in a few hours. Chemical and natural methods work over months or years, not days, whatever the packaging or a video might suggest.
If you would rather run the machine yourself, small walk-behind grinders can be hired by the half day. They suit small stumps at lawn depth, and we compare the costs and limits in hiring a stump grinder yourself.
What happens if you leave a tree stump in the ground?
It slowly decays, usually over several years and often more than a decade for a big stump. Meanwhile it can sprout new shoots, become a trip hazard hidden in long grass, host decay fungi, and get in the way of mowing, paths or planting. If it is tucked away somewhere nobody walks, leaving it is a perfectly sensible choice.
Species such as gum, wattle, willow, privet and poplar are the ones most likely to sprout from a cut stump. If the stump is in the way of something you want to build or pave, the depth it needs to go to matters; that is covered in grinding vs full removal.
Common mistakes when removing a stump yourself
The mistakes that cause real trouble are digging without checking for services, trying to burn a stump in town, and pouring products where they can reach drains. The rest mostly waste time: expecting chemicals to work in a few weeks, cutting the tree too low to lever, or planting into half-rotted wood.
- Digging before locating services. Cables, gas and water pipes can be shallower than you expect.
- Cutting the tree flush to the ground when you plan to dig it out, which leaves nothing to lever with.
- Burning in an urban area, or using any fuel to get a stump going.
- Pouring products near drains, waterways or the roots of plants you want to keep.
- Expecting stump rotter to work in weeks. Plan on many months.
- Planting straight into rotting stump material, which ties up nitrogen; replace it with topsoil first.
When to stop and call a grinder
Call in a machine when the stump is more than about 300 mm across, is a hardwood such as gum, sits close to a house, wall, fence, path or services, is on a slope, or is in a spot where you need to lay turf, pave or build soon. Those are the stumps that eat weekends with hand tools and take years to rot.
Most residential stumps cost $175–$500 incl. GST to grind; the detail is in what stump grinding costs in Auckland. When you are ready, book stump grinding with a photo of the stump and its diameter, and we can usually price it without a visit.
General guidance only. Follow product labels exactly, and check Auckland Council and Fire and Emergency rules before any outdoor fire. Prices are indicative NZD ranges incl. GST. See our disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take for a tree stump to rot on its own?
Years, and often more than a decade for a large stump. How fast it goes depends on the species, the stump's size, and how damp it stays. Small softwood stumps go quickest. Keeping the stump moist and covered with soil or mulch helps the decay fungi do their work. In the meantime some species will sprout from the stump, so cut any shoots off as they appear.
Can you buy potassium nitrate stump remover in NZ?
Yes. It is sold as stump rotter granules at New Zealand garden centres and hardware stores, usually in small tubs. It works by feeding the fungi that rot the wood, so the stump softens over many months rather than disappearing overnight; you still dig or chop out the softened wood at the end. Use it only as the product label directs, and store it away from fuels.
Does Epsom salt kill tree stumps?
There is little evidence that it does. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, sold as a garden fertiliser, and extension advisers who have looked for research on stump removal found nothing to support the claim. At best it may help dry out freshly cut wood. If regrowth is the problem, cutting shoots as they appear or a herbicide registered for cut stumps works better; if removal is the goal, it won't do it.