Roselee, Didn't want to hijack your thread into a discussion on glyphosate, so that linked article was sort of an oblique confirmation of your doubt that "glyphosate disappears from the soil very quickly." In fact, in Monsanto's own words: "...the tight binding of glyphosate to agricultural soils effectively prevents significant root uptake by nearby plants." This is what enables that nice ability of almost immediately replanting a treated area. Residual/cumulative glyphosate is not likely to be an issue for most home gardeners, but the research and debate in the agricultural space is moving me to become a bit more conservative in its use. The fact that non-targeted plants can be damaged when their roots are intermingled with targeted plants in small containers or the glyphosate becomes mobile in hydroponics is pretty well accepted. But it's reasonably argued that these are not representative of most yard or field growing environments. The exception is the warning shouted on the Roundup usage sheets about what several of us have advised: PRECAUTIONS, RESTRICTIONS: DO NOT MAKE CUT STUMP APPLICATIONS WHEN THE ROOTS OF ADJACENT DESIRABLE TREES MAY BE GRAFTED TO THE ROOTS OF THE CUT STUMP. INJURY RESULTING FROM ROOT GRAFTING MAY OCCUR IN ADJACENT TREES.... Adjacent trees having a similar age, height and spacing may signal shared roots. Whether grafted or shared, injury is likely to occur to non-treated stems/trees when one or more trees sharing common roots are treated. So, might not use it on a stump in a grove of similar aged oaks, but not likely to be an issue in your situation. Planting a new tree within 3 or 4 feet of the stump shouldn't be a problem as our own experience has shown... well, other than digging the hole through the roots of the old tree.

Beng: Sadly, as previous posters have indicated, there is NO preventative or treatment for EY. There may be some pesticides available to control the vector (white banded elm leaf hopper?) but as the tree matures, I would think that would become increasingly prohibitive. D.C. elms and they are planting quuite a number of them, could be in jeapardy since EY is supposed to be spreading in that direction. The legacy elms at Penn State are about to be subjected to an onslaught, as well. Alden Townsend, who conducted the elm innoculation studies for the National Arboretum, posted a disclaimer on the web shortly after the release of Valley Forge and New Harmony stating that all american elm selections involved in his study did show susceptibility to EY in the lab. I would be curious to see if in fact Princeton did show resistance, although I would probably not plant in area where EY was known to exist. I don't believe EY as as widespread and systemic as ded and tends to be spotty. I hope this isn't a major outbreak.

Putting salt into your yard is a very bad idea. Depending on the width of the stump, you might just overturn a bucket on the stump to keep light away from the sprouts. I do that and set a bird bath on top, works like a charm. > I see a few small ants climbing the tree, but no apparant damaged I can see. All I see is a few black branches. Black branches may mean moldy honeydew, indicating aphids. Dish soap and water, or a spray of insecticidal soap should get rid of the aphids, and the ants will go with them. Here is a link that might be useful: aphids, black mold

For over 20 years I have killed the roots of remaining stumps by painting the cut surface,IMMEDIATELY, with full strength 41% roundup. Not all trees will regrow from a stump, or roots in the ground, so I use Roundup selectively. If I am asleep at the switch and miss a tree, I can still kill it by spraying the new growth with brush killer, but it will take usually three years to kill. Al