tree stump removal - help!

Don't know where I should post this...
Short story - I need to remove a large tree stump

Long story - at the entrance to our newly bought house (from the eary 1900's), there is a very large spirea - which looks great, only, it was encircled with a cheap green metal thing (I guess it's easier to mow around it), and raised about 1 ft off the ground. I dug up the whole front and made a new garden with butterfly bushes, etc, and the spirea was the corner. I finally got around to removing the metal circle - it took a few hours to dig up and I had to prune the spirea back alot to lift it off the bush. So then I started to try to dig up the spirea so I could replant it at the lower level (the same level as the rest of the garden).

Well, the reason it was raised is: it was planted on top of a tree stump! I don't know why anyone would plant a shrub directly on a tree stump, and then build up the soil around it.... So I need to somehow remove this huge stump - it's almost 2 ft wide and very deep. And I still want to save the spirea (which has roots that go into the tree). HELP! Any ideas?
Thanks!!
-Mara

well I dont know where the roots are-But i burnt mine last summer and it burnt way under ground(cave in)where ever the roots were.. so if your roots are under your garden it can cause it to collapse. Luckily mine was not under anything but ditch daylilies!!! :)

I have burned them too. I put a 10 lb. bag of charcoal on top of it and used lots of charcoal starter fluid (kerosene). The first time it just dried out and burned a little. The second time it burned up nicely and my experience was like notmartha's, it even burned the big roots underground. We even put a grill on bricks around it and cooked out chicken. One comment though, ground burned that badly won't let anything grow for a long time so I'd dig out some of the dirt and replace with a good growing mixture. We got rid of 8 stumps this way. Much cheaper than hiring someone to pull it out or a stump grinder.

I would put the spirea right back where it was.

Put the border thing back around it and then add enough soil and mulch to the remainder of the bed to slope it off and conceal most of the height difference.

Whatever other plantings you add to the bed will conceal the remainder of the height difference.

A tree stump that size will be all but impossible to get rid of without major difficulty. You would be doing major work and possibly damage to your yard in order to accomplish that task.

Over a long period of years, the stump will disintegrate and will enrich the soil where it resides. Your plants, including the spirea will benefit from its presence.

Good Gardening!

Aubrey

hmmm, one of the stumps I burned was larger than 2 feet across.

Thanks - all good advice. I think it's too tall to keep the spirea on top and mound the dirt - I started doing it, and I would have to raise the bed at least a foot and a half to make it look ok.... not a great option. I'll have to check on the burn laws in city limits. If it depresses the surrounding soil, that's ok - there's only a daylillly planted near it right now - the rest of the stuff is several feet away. Is it worth it to grind it do you think?
Thanks,
Mara

at least get an estimate to get the stump ground. You can also rent a stump grinder if you have a rental center nearby. Grinding out the stump is simple and over with quickly plus the grindings are great mulch.

Oh, I'd grind too if I had the money. The burning is the cheap way to get rid of them.