Please help, cannot get these to go away

Discussion in 'Plant ID' started by ash0514, Apr 13, 2014.

  1. ash0514

    ash0514 New Seed

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    We moved into a new house with this mess in the yard. All is clear, but the plants in the back that are tall are back! They have VERY thick stems and roots. Red veins on the leaves. And the portion that sticks up.

    Any help on identifying is appreciated as I am trying again to get rid of these tomorrow!

    [​IMG]
    Help! ( photo / image / picture from ash0514's Garden )
     
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  3. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    Say...do you think that you could take some close-up foto's of the stems and leaves?
     
  4. mart

    mart Strong Ash

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    Yes, need a close up of this same pic and one of the leaves/stems ect.
     
  5. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

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    I can't make them out, either. Get a picture of the plant not the whole garden. All I can identify is that there is a white pine there and some....weeds. But from the sound of it maybe you are dealing with poke weed. I am just guessing, though. Is this picture from last year? Did the plant have racemes of white flowers which bore plump purple individual berries? The stem is very fleshy pink and hollow, but the root is a HUGE taproot which can hardly be dug?
     



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  6. mart

    mart Strong Ash

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    Poke is what I thought too from the description but it can be pulled up easily when small. Poke weed is edible and is like a wild spinach. I guard all mine well.
     
  7. ash0514

    ash0514 New Seed

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    Unfortunately it's from last year and they're not fully grown back again... Will get a pic of the current leaves.

    Here's a picture of the new part coming up.


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    New growth ( photo / image / picture from ash0514's Garden )

    Also, we moved into the house in August, at that time it didn't have any berries or flowers. You couldn't pull it up and when I went to dig it up, it was clear I wasn't going to get it... Very thick!
     
  8. Ronni

    Ronni Hardy Maple

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    Oh man! I think that's the same stuff I struggled with in my garden. I don't recall the name, but the folks here nailed what it was from my pictures. It was AWFUL stuff....the roots were huge and thick and chunky, and went on forever!

    If you have the same thing, then unfortunately all I can say is condolences. :(
     
  9. mike townsend

    mike townsend New Seed

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    looks like a type of morning glory, very tough to kill with traditional methods But I can tell you a couple that work very well.

    Chickens, the second it comes up they peck it to death.

    Hot fertilizer ( like fresh chicken manure ). some weeds flourish in poor soil and when they get fertilizer they dont do well and wither and die.

    I know it sounds crazy but if you are like us we dont ever spray poison here.
     
  10. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

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    You have a Burdock plant there. It has a huge fibrous root that is yellow under the skin. Yes it is hard to get out, but not as bad as pokeweed, get your shovel sharpened and start digging. I do mean a sharpened shovel, it will be much easier to get out.
     
  11. ash0514

    ash0514 New Seed

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    Did some more searching and fairly certain it is Dock Weed. Thoughts? Also, any recommendations on keeping away if that is what it is?
     
  12. eileen

    eileen Resident Taxonomist Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    I think Carolyn may be right and that they're Burdock. Not the easiest of things to get rid of but good luck with digging them out.
     
  13. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

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    I think it is Yellow Dock, not Burdock, too. sorry. Dig out the roots and if it isn't in an area you are actually growing garden plants in use a pre-emergent on the area. Dig out all the ones that are there or spray them with a weed killer if you must, but be uber careful as the drift can spread onto desirable plants and can damage or kill them also. I think they are a biennial, so this year you would see the emerged grow for the season and next spring/summer you will see the plant "flower" and set seed. It has an insignificant flower, but it gets about 4' tall and turns brown. You probably have a million seeds ready to emerge. Till it, smother it, put a goat in there, dig them, get some chickens......whatever it takes.
     
  14. purpleinopp

    purpleinopp Young Pine Plants Contributor

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    No idea what it is except that in the last pic it doesn't look like pokeweed. How many individual unwanted plants do you need to get rid of? Are there any 'good' plants there, or is it mostly good plants with just a few of these weeds? The roots of the trees will make digging hard, if not impossible, and many weed roots and tree roots are likely tangled hopelessly. Not sure exactly what's going on, but a combo of some digging, some smothering, some boiling water could help you get control if most of that is weeds. Then, of course, there's chemicals, but I can't help you with those.

    FWIW since mentioned, pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) is edible, but takes proper preparation to remove toxins. I've never heard of it being eaten raw.
    http://www.eattheweeds.com/can-be-deadl ... okeweed-2/
     
  15. mart

    mart Strong Ash

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    No, it isn`t pokeweed. If you don`t like to use typical poisons buy a small bag of 17-17-17 or better fertilizer. Just the same stuff that you fertilize a vegetable garden with. Then dissolve about 3 cups in a gallon of hot water and let it sit for 2 or three days stirring once a day. then strain. All the fertilizer will not dissolve but you will get the most of it. Then just use a hand spray bottle and fill 2/3ds full and add a cup of apple cider vinegar. Spray the small plants with it on a good warm sunny dry day. See if that will kill it. It should absorb it through the leaves and stalk and kill the root. Larger ones try to cut the top from the bottom and then spray the stalk to kill the root. If that doesn`t do it,,get 2-4-D !!
     

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