At one corner of my property there's 4 or 5 small trees (oaks). One might have a trunk about a foot in diameter, while the others are effectively just well-established saplings (no more than a few inches around).
Since I'm not fond of oaks (they turn brown in the fall instead of pretty colors, and they dump acorns all over) and we have a bigger old oak that's exactly as much oak as I'd like to have to clean up after, I was thinking of getting rid of these younger oaks and planting something nice and colorful (a sugar maple, a cherry blossom tree, maybe a really large lilac bush, or _something_ along those lines).
I can either saw down and/or hire someone to saw down the existing trees. But, then, what about the trunks/root systems? Obviously, they need to be removed, also. Does this involve hiring big (expensive) bull-dozerish equipment to dig up the stumps? Is there any way to...ahhh...encourage the wood to break down in a few seasons on its own?
I don't mind waiting a few years (say...2-4?) to be able to plant a tree there, but, I'm not sure if there are any economical options that would be effective and non-damaging to the long-term environment. Other than digging the stumps out by hand, which would be REAL hard on my back! :)
Gwen