White pine root system

[Qweaver]

We felled a 36" dia white pine today to make room for our saw shed.  Now we have to dig out the stump.  I hope the roots are mainly on the surface because I'm having a really hard time getting close to the trunk with the backhoe because of the amount and size of the roots around this tree.  I'm getting a little stump movement as I  pull on the roots and that gives me hope.  If this tree has a root ball like the hardwood stumps I've been removing...I'm in trouble.  This tree has huge roots close to the surface.  I've been able to dig through the roots for about 1/3 of the way around the stump but way out away from the stump.
Suggestions?

[Gary_C]

Suggestions?

Just keep digging. If you have some movement you are almost there. Once you get halfway around you should be able to get it loose by a lot of wiggling. Or then you can reach across and undercut the stump.

It's hard to predict how the roots have grown till the stump is out of the hole. I've seen hardwoods that had a pancake flat root system just in the top soil layer with gravely soil beneath and softwoods with deep roots in the better soils. Your knowledge of the soil in the area would give you a better idea than anyone else's guess.

[Kevin]

White pine have heart root and shouldn't be too deep but deeper than a spruce.

[Qweaver]

Well we got her out of the hole but not without a fight.   8)  Almost all of the roots were on the surface but they were big and long.   I  broke them off as close to the trunk as I could with the JD backhoe. Then Dave came in with the dozer and broke them off even closer which let me dig out some more and we finally got her to move.  About a 4 hour job.

[Phorester]

Yep, that's a mighty big stump.  In most soils, white pine doesn't produce just one big taproot that goes straight down like other species.  It usually produces several big lateral roots that go out at angles from one another.  A 36-incher has had a long time to grow some big roots.