price, After a quick Scroogle search, I ran across a few articles on rooting pecan &/or walnut cuttings - looks like success rates with the sort of adventitious shoots you're gonna get from that BW stump will probably be better than trying to root cuttings of 'mature' wood. Still, survival and shoot elongation, post-rooting, look to be problematic. Here's a few to get you started: http://msucares.com/nmrec/reports/2001/fruits/etiolation.pdf www.rngr.net/Publications/central-states-forest-tree-improvement-conference/8th-central-states-forest-tree-improvement-conference-1972/propagation-of-walnut-chestnut-and-pecan-by-rooted-cuttings/at_download/file http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/fnr/HTIRC/pdf/publications/Juglans.cuttings.pdf Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

I agree that a serious fruit gardener has enough to contend with without handicapping themselves by having chemical war waged against their trees in the soil. Also I believe that it is more than simply poisoning- established black walnuts are extremely competitive as their roots are extremely prolific in areas where they grow. I have recently established an orchard in the vicinity of these trees and the density of black roots in the area is remarkable. I have the area around each individual tree spaded with a King of Spades type solid steel, long handled shovel just as BW's show signs of growth. So far so good, but I'm sure the roots will eventually go under depth of spade work. As usual, it is the peaches that have been most sluggish- they tend not to compete well against established trees when transplanted. I've often thought that some kind of heavy fabric or copper screen set in the planting hole might be affective if it was part of the original installation.

Whether or not a tree develops a so-called tap root has little bearing on the appearance and location of the rest of the root system. All trees will concentrate the bulk of their roots very close to the soil surface, typically within the top 12-18", with most of the very fine and dense feeder roots directly below the soil surface. That's where the oxygen, soil moisture and nutrients are located and so that's where the roots predominate. Any forestry or arboriculture resource will confirm this. It is one thing to establish smaller growing, very shallowly rooted perennials like hostas under the canopy of any large tree -- it is quite another to plant another tree or large shrub. The root systems will compete and the larger one usually wins unless special care is provided for the smaller species until it is well-established. Often this need for additional attention will persist, especially with drought intolerant species like Japanese maples.

Maureen, I would recommend contacting your extension agent or local forester for more information on who you might contact for potential removal/purchasing. Trees grown in yard or farmstead settings - unless carefully managed - will likely not attract a great deal of attention from timber buyers due to potential for old nails, wire, etc that may exist under in the tree. I'm in west central WI and had 4 20"+ Black Walnuts we needed to remove last year and we couldn't give away the trees (the trees were farmstead trees/woodland bordering trees). A local timber buyer had zero interest - even in just giving them away - nor did anyone want them for wood burning. We did end up giving some chunks of the logs away to friends though who wanted some for woodworking. While I like Black Walnuts in general, I do not like them in a yard setting as a selection of other plants are not tolerant of the junglone (basically a natural herbicide of the BW) produced from the seeds, roots, and leaves. Good luck!