Question
I want to buy a lilac bush for my grandma but where we want to plant it there is a pine tree  stump! if it is removed is ok to plant there? I was told the pine tree will kill the lilac bush...not sure why? PEASE HELP! Davenport Iowa

Answer
The pine will not kill the lilac bush--no toxic out put from the pine stump. Depending on the size of the stump and if it was ground down you could have problems having enough soil over the stump to plant in. On large stumps is is best to move slightly to the side and plant there--that way the new plant will have more soil to grow in. On small diameter stumps it really does not matter as long as you can dig down enough to plant the lilac. It is more of a matter of soil than the pine causing a problem.