What is this weed?

[Smccau3]

Can anyone help ID this weed? It has taken over my garden and I am not sure what it is.

You can see in this picture the root of it all. I think it looks like a giant bulb. Around it you can see the new shoots coming up.




These pictures are what I cut down a few days ago. They grew to be very large and before I cut them down they had little round balls on them.






Can anyone help? I am willing to completely kill the garden to get rid of it. I just need to know what to do.

 

[TOP KNOT]

I don't know, but here is a neat place to look. I had some really big bad weeds in my pasture and found the name of it here. http://weeds.cropsci.illinois.edu/weedid.htm

 

[animallover505]

Looks a bit like pokeweed to me. Can you get more pics?

 

[StephieSky]

It looks like Japanese Knotweed. It grows as much as 3' a week and spreads quickly.
You'll need to pull the tubers and paint the small pips with a systemic.
They say you need a specific spray for each and every litttle thing but I've had great luck using an old folgers coffee can filled with "Eraser" and a paint brush. I dig down a few inches and paint the stem, paint the plant above soil level about 12" up, and snip the remainder off. Leaving just enough plant to deliver the toxin to the roots.
Eraser is the name on the original jug of weed killer I use as a last resort. The pampas grass that was here when I moved in was horrible. I tried digging it out and burning it out. It's tenacious! So I went and bought the Eraser and I've since gotten pretty handy with this stuff. I really like the results. Its fast, it works and Its also very specific when applied with the paint brush instead of the sprayer it comes with.
You might want to use a bamboo stick and brightly colored bit of fabric to mark the spot. I do so I remember to come back in a week and dig it out for the burn barrel if its in my garden area.
If its in the ornamental gardens I only dig it out if its large enough I need worry about contaminating other plants nearby. Otherwise I just dig a trench, paint it and bury it beneath the soil surface; never to be seen again.

 

[creekrocket]

Definitely Poke Weed. Deer Love That Stuff

 

[Smccau3]

Thanks so much for all your help identifying my weed. It does seem like pokeweed to me.

I am going to spend some time this week (as long as the rain hold off) digging up as much of the taproot as I can. Hopefully in the process I can dig up any of my plants I want to save in case I end up dousing the whole garden in weed killer.

 

[Highcotton]

Weed killer probably won't do much good. At least it never has for me. If you have poke weed that large you will have small ones everywhere a bird can land and deposit the seed. They love the purple poke berries. I had the best luck using a sturdy spading fork. Just stick it in the ground beside the root and pull back on the handle. That will lift the plant up and loosen the tap root so you can pull it out. The spading fork is great for Pig Weed, Dandelions and other deep rooted plants. In the lawn it just loosens the soil and makes the grass grwo better since you don't have to dig a hole.