Good morning, I need a lot of advice, and I hope someone can help me. Last May, I had an ash tree removed (EAB), and requested to do a deep stump grind. I hoped after a year (from reading and speaking to two different arborists last spring), that I could purchase a new tree. So, I recently ordered and requested a crabapple ‘Prairie fire’ to be planted close to the location where the ash tree was removed. I was told from two different Gerten’s employees, in order for them to plant, the roots need to be completely rotted in order for the new tree to be planted by at least one year. But options to plant the new tree from the old one, I received different answers. One person told me only a foot, another person told me 3 feet from the originally location to plant the new tree. I have limited space in the front yard, so I’m not sure whether to just cancel my tree from the amount of space I can plant it from in the ground. The other hiccup I have, is about a 5’+ long, deep tree root I cannot remove. It’s probably about a foot thick in diameter at least. Is there a way to kill that root, if I have to wait to order a crabapple by next spring? I’m afraid if I put any chemicals down, it’ll kill my grass and the new tree. My last question is- how fast do the Prairie Fire trees grow? I was thinking of possibly ordering a smaller tree instead, due to the old tree roots existing, and the amount of space for the tree to grow up. I have a mature linden tree already, so it would be pretty close to the crabapple. Pictures show smallest root sliced, and the largest part of the root from the tree.