Hi @3jidaddy,
Thank you for your question about planting a tree next to an old tree stump.
You can plant a frangipani tree next to the stump, but it’s important to ensure the stump won’t hinder the frangipani's growth. Stumps decompose slowly, and as they break down, they can create competition for nutrients and water in the soil, which may affect the frangipani's establishment. Additionally, the stump may still have roots that could obstruct new planting. Ideally, you would remove it, but your frangipani will likely be fine if you don't.
If you start digging a hole to plant your frangipani in and find there is a considerable number of roots obstructing you, it is likely worth removing the stump as they will restrict the frangipani root's ability to burrow deeper and anchor into the earth.
There are stump grinding companies that can do it for you, but as you said, it can be expensive and looking at the size of the stump, not really necessary.
Removing the stump yourself is an option and as the stump is not very large, it would not be unimaginable to do it yourself. Check out How To Remove a Tree Stump for some guidance. You'll see that the thickness of the trunk in this article is much larger than yours, so it's likely going to be easier to remove than in this example.
Let me know what you think.
Jacob
