Easiest way of removing an established stump that was a Buddliea

[Threedaysaweek2019]

Hi there, we are currently changing things in our garden which includes removing the Buddliea (sorry, not sure if that’s the correct way of spelling it).
We’ve had it years, so after cutting it right down to the stump, we’ve noticed it is quite big and established, and it might be a task to get it out.
What would be the easiest way of removing it altogether? It seems that a pair of hands or two, won’t be enough....
Any advice appreciated 💐.

Hire a tree surgeon who has a stump grinder.

I hacked one too close to a window down and got DP to use brute force to get the roots up. It took a while!

Under the ground it will basically look like an inverted tree, ie the thick stump won't go down far and will divide into a lot of smaller roots. So to do it manually is a combination of digging away soil to reveal roots, cutting through roots with a saw or lopper, and rocking the stump back and forth to snap smaller roots and reveal more of the larger roots (easier if you've left about 18 inches of stump above ground) until the whole thing comes loose. Even with a big buddleia, tedious as this sounds, it may be quicker than sourcing a tree surgeon and agreeing dates. (75-yr-old DH has just removed the almost metre wide stump of a 40ft leylandii by this method, although in that case it might have been quicker to get a tree surgeon in)

We had terrible trouble removing a couple of Buddlieas, they seemed pretty deep rooted to me. In the end we tied them to a vehicle and pulled them out. The back wheels spun a bit, but they gave up in the end. Probably not helpful if they are in your back garden though.
You just need a strong determined person with a pickaxe, it will come out in the end.

Update: All done!

Dh managed to get it out in the end, with some brute force and a spade.

It wasn’t as deep as we initially thought.
Now to sort out the flower bed.

Thanks for your advice all, and your stories of how you got yours out.
Determined buggers aren’t they?