I purchased a house last November with a beautiful tree in the front yard. I don't know what breed it was, but I believe that it might have been a type of plum tree. (see photo at bottom)
Unfortunately, that tree turned out to be completely covered in black knot fungus (looked like poop turds hanging from branches). After consulting with a few people, it was decided that the tree had to come down, as the fungus was on all limbs.
The tree was fairly young (~10 yrs from what the neighbors tell me). I cut the tree down a few weeks ago and am now considering replanting another tree in its place.
Do I need to remove the roots completely, or should grinding the stump down, say 4" down be ok? Is the fungus something that could be still 'living' in the roots of the old tree, and could it possibly infect a new tree that I plant in the same place? If so, what can I do, short of trenching out all the old roots?