Need your help!

[gntry]

I hope someone here can help me...my yard is being overrun by this plant...Roundup does nothing to it, digging the roots out hasn't helped, even gasoline doesn't do anything....aaarrrgghhh!!!!!! The stem is red, the leaves have red veins, the stem is about 1/2 around, will grow to about 6' if left alone...I think maybe some kind of bamboo??? In someone's infinite wisdom, I would hope someone can put a name to this beast....please. Any how to get rid of it for good. Thanks any and all.

CG in NY

[Travis]

I don't know what it is but it isn't bamboo.

[Vox Humana]

It is hard to tell from the picture. How big does it get if left alone? Have you seen it bloom? Does it get fruit? My first thought is that it is a sucker from a tree. Some trees are notorious for colonizing an area by sending out suckers from roots. I have a large colony of paw paw trees that are trying to take over part of the woods behind my house. Is there a tree in the area that could be the source? My other thought is that it might be poke weed. Pokeweed is a poisonous weed that is often found in pastures and in land that has been cleared near a forest. The plant is vascular and produces a lot of berries. It self sows and birds spread the seed. All parts of the plant are toxic to humans except for the new shoots in the spring, which can be boiled and eaten if the correct procedure is followed. It can be hard to get rid of because it has a long tap root that is very difficult to remove.

[Sed5555]

Could be a polygonum (smart weed), likely Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) that is also known as Mexican bamboo. For more info and control options, see:

[Kay Lancaster]

Can't tell a whole lot from your photos, but take a look at descriptions of "Japanese knotweed" -- may have the scientific names of Polygonum cuspidatum, Renoutria japonica or Fallopia japonica.

If that's what you've got, you're in for a battle, but do keep after it. It only gets worse.

(paste the URL back together)

[kate]

Looks like Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) to me.

[SugarChile]

Maybe poke, although I don't think so, a little hard to tell from the pictures. It might also be pigweed , Amaranthus retroflexus

understand that you are frustrated by trying to control this weed, but it's a bad idea to pour gasoline on the ground. It contaminates the groundwater, is probably illegal where you live, and as you have noted, not always effective anyway.

For either poke or pigweed, you can pull small plants in the spring, and dig up the larger ones. If you miss some of the root, they will attempt to regrow, but if you are diligent about pulling/cutting the new growth, the root will exhaust itself. It's probably impractical to aim for total eradication; both plants set plentiful seeds, and poke berries in particular are a favorite of birds and get spread through them.

Cheers, Sue

[Vox Humana]

I have had reasonable success in controlling pokeweed by simply stepping it down when it appears. Eventually, it dies. Unfortunately, new plants spring up in other locations. We must have a big reservoir of it close by that the birds feed on and then seed my lot.

[Dave Gower]

"gntry" wrote

When you say Roundup won't kill it, did you try cutting it off at an angle to give lots of surface area, then painting straight Roundup on the wound with a brush? Some plants have waxy leaves that chemicals have a hard time clinging too, so you need a more direct application method. This is the technique used by the local power company to eliminate weed trees that grow under their lines.