What can you do with a standing tree trunk?

February 6, 2022 8:52 PM

My neighbor has left a standing tree trunk, completely denuded of limbs around 3.5’ x 40’ high, on the edge of my property. What can you do with a tree trunk like this that would be cool?

So, the back story. Some years ago we took down a large Douglas fir that had a nasty lean towards our house. In the aftermath, I noticed a few properties where they took down a tree and left the stump standing some 10 or 15’ high and put something on it, like a lookout or a kid fort.

I admit I mentioned this to my contractor neighbor while he was having a Douglas fir reduced a couple of weeks ago. It had a nasty habit of dropping big limbs on our respective structures.

Be careful what you ask for. Anyhoos, it’s not clear to me whether there’s just a lull in the takedown, or he means now to leave it there. Not particular aesthetic having a delimbed trunk standing looming behind our houses.

So, out of curiosity, have you ever seen a reduced trunk used for a useful purpose and left standing?

posted by diode to Home & Garden (27 answers total)

One good reason to leave snags is to provide habitat and resources for wildlife. Woodpeckers are the obvious winners but that starts with fungus and insects, and lots of others benefit from those as well. Leaving dead wood on the landscape is the single most useful thing a homeowner can do to promote biodiversity*, and snags (standing dead trunks like that) are particularly rare and useful.

The best part is, no particular work is needed to reap these benefits; just leave it there and wait!

(according to Alex Shigo, chief of USFS and perhaps the most influential forester of the 20th century.)
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:05 PM on February 6, 2022 [27 favorites]

They’re habitat for animals like cavity-nesting birds. You can also inoculate them with desirable fungi, but those will weaken the tree unpredictably, I would be cautious trying that with a 40’ stump.
posted by momus_window at 9:06 PM on February 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

Someone in my friend’s neighborhood had a sculptor carve a really lovely Classical-style “statue” (think lady with an urn) out of a tree trunk. It’s about 15’ tall and super cool.
posted by lovableiago at 9:06 PM on February 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

Just a word of precaution, but last I heard, the sculptors around here who worked with stumps did some very nice work and then painted the result with some of the most toxic wood preservatives.
posted by jamjam at 9:25 PM on February 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

With regard to jamjam’s comment, the one I was talking about appears to have not been treated with anything. As a result the wood has weathered and is a pretty wide variety of shades now but it still looks neat.
posted by lovableiago at 9:44 PM on February 6, 2022

You can get mycelium-inoculated dowels to grow gourmet edible mushrooms
in a fresh stump.
posted by sindark at 9:45 PM on February 6, 2022 [7 favorites]

I used my backyard snag to support a climbing rose, which is now a dome about twenty feet across and ten deep overhead. Also trying to eat my garage and making gestures towards the neighbors house.

Lots of pruning work twice a year, but I love it dearly and its a safe nesting spot for little birds.
posted by clew at 9:58 PM on February 6, 2022 [12 favorites]

As mentioned above, snags are great for wildlife. (Not as great as an actual forest, but still pretty good.) Snags look better as they age - the critters, fungi, and time do their thing, and they lose that sad look to them. If you're into nature at all it might be pretty fun to set up a wildlife cam on/at it, and track the changes and visitors over time.
posted by stowaway at 10:04 PM on February 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

Welcome to Chicago. I mean the Chicago Tree Project.

Also: vines.

Also: put a little water feature nearby, and love your frogs.
posted by amtho at 10:23 PM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

My neighbor has a couple out front and they put some wee birdhouses on top. Makes me smile every time I drive by.
posted by potrzebie at 10:33 PM on February 6, 2022

Our neighbourhood has one carved into a dragon. There are footprints painted across the road.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 11:24 PM on February 6, 2022 [5 favorites]

That's 40 ft = 10+ m tall?! That's a lot of stump. I guess they stopped there because 3.5ft is getting too wide to trim down further slices. We had a looming Monterey cypress Hesperocyparis [was Cupressus] macrocarpa and trimmed it down to just above the bottom branch [? 4m = 12 ft] with the intention of putting a tree-house atop. If that ever happens, it is my intention to access it with a staircase spiralling round the trunk.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:57 PM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

The worker who took down one of our trees used his power tools to make a hole in the top of the remaining trunk. We planted various flowers in the"vase". The favorite flowers of the deer who come by are the bluebells my husband transplanted.
Our house is in an area developed in 1978. It is not in a forest or rural area, but deer are frequent visitors. Maybe the wildfires have left them with no habitat and no food. Neighbors report having to keep cats in the house because of coyotes and other predators.
posted by Cranberry at 12:50 AM on February 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

Habitat. One of our trees was ailing last year, threat to house, etc. and we talked with the arborist about the options. We left a 20’ stump, and we left one of the larger chunks elsewhere on the property for the same reason.
posted by cupcakeninja at 3:52 AM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

I've seen some people make theirs into little free libraries, which are on the twee side but still make me very happy to look at.
posted by Mchelly at 7:53 AM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Make a gnome or fairy house at the foot, a little door and a path and maybe a tiny mailbox.

One of my neighbors is a sculptor in painted metal, and besides the large freestanding sculptures in his yard has a smaller creature that peers down from the snag at the edge of their property. It took me a while to notice it but now I smile every time I see it.

Agreed with all the habitat comments, we have a ton of dead wood out back and it is full of life.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:57 AM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Have you asked your neighbor what they plan to do with it, or if it's just in the process of further takedowns?

I have seen statues carved from old trees turn out great, particularly pretty as the wood weathered to nice colors. I have also seen stumps used to plant ferns and woodland flowers by scooping out the sides to create nooks and crannies and then filling them with soil. Look for "stumpery" as a concept.
posted by gemmy at 7:58 AM on February 7, 2022

Some people in our neighborhood sewed various costumes for their giant stump and dressed it up according to the season.
posted by Tuba Toothpaste at 8:17 AM on February 7, 2022 [3 favorites]

An old organic farm near me carved one into a carrot which was very cool. I've also seen one with various branches all cut off at the same height and a single birdhouse perched atop each branch.
posted by DrGail at 9:05 AM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Attach bird houses of various sizes/types, bat houses, and bee-friendly structures.
posted by erst at 10:42 AM on February 7, 2022

Best answer: Do you have any long distance WiFi links you'd like to make? If you know someone miles away who has an unobstructed line of sight to the tree you could make a point-to-point link.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:57 AM on February 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'd use it as 1 corner put up a grape arbor to provide shade, grapes and a cozy spot in the yard.
posted by theora55 at 2:09 PM on February 7, 2022

Work out the scale carefully, but do this: carve an ionic capital and place it on top. This would, as you can imagine, make an awesome display. (I would probably cut off some of the top (10' ?) and make a tenon on top to hold the capital.

An ironic capital. I had an opportunity to do this and regret not doing it.
posted by lathrop at 4:02 PM on February 7, 2022

Just wait and the tree will grow back?

Echoing what others have said - tree trunks are a wonderful source of habitat for all sorts of creatures, so just leave it.
posted by dg at 5:11 PM on February 7, 2022

Best answer: Our neighbours nailed a fuckton of colourfully painted birdhouses to their big snag and grew some ivy up it. It looks great. But might be dangerous as it gets older? Snags can be pretty hazardous long term because they’re such a fall risk.
posted by congen at 8:20 PM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

I was just wondering about the risk of the trunk eventually falling over. What is in its landing path? This can lead to an insurance problem.

If the height was reasonable (a standard folding ladder could reach the top) then a variety of feeding stations could be added to the top and sides. Fasten securely so they do not sail off in a high wind.

Squirrels and rodents will reach the top of the trunk. Cats and other predators might. Be prepared to rescue stranded animals.

Be vigilant about nuisance vines, which will try to take over. Or if you like, consult local wildlife experts about a habitat for food (flowers and berries) and shelter. Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and woodpeckers will thank you.

Dead wood can attract things that are beneficial (fungus) and a nuisance (termites). Keep track of that.
posted by TrishaU at 12:42 AM on February 8, 2022

Best answer: Might be waiting for the final takedown. A straight trunk of douglas fir 3.5 feet in diameter and 40 feet long is pretty valuable if it straight, clean and sound.
posted by the Real Dan at 2:09 AM on February 8, 2022