Weed ID?

[Deleted2797112]

Can anyone ID this please? It's about 3m tall, not quite hollow but very lightweight stems, paired leaves, bright green, no red or purple tinges.

TIA!

View media item 78830

 

[r896neo]

I would love to know too. I pull it out all the time but dont knows its proper name.

Does it have very woody stems on older wood which have a rough texture and It has a white flower in spring and a strong smell when you break/cut it?

Grows fast too like a buddleja

 

[Deleted2797112]

That's exactly it! I got a much better look today, although it's sandwiched in between two fences with no access. The lower stems/trunks are woody with little warty bumps. I haven't seen it flower (yet) and it does have a strong smell. All of that soft green growth @3m is this year! I've been googling as I was worried at first it might be knotweed and the only thing I can find that's close is Lycesteria Formosa (Himalayan Honeysuckle or Pheasant Berry)?

 

[endecotp]

Looks like Elder. Has heads of many tiny white flowers about now, which turn into little black berries.

(Elderflower Champagne is great!)

 

[Deleted2797112]

Thank you - that's it! I'd discounted all the sorts of common trees and shrubs as I didn't think any of them were so fast-growing. But elder apparently is.

http://www.rfs.org.uk/learning/elder

At 15m, 60 years and suckering, it's going to be a bit of a problem. Much as I enjoy elderflower cordial, it will have to go if the neighbours agree.

 

[endecotp]

Not cordial - champagne! Made from the flowers, not the berries.

 

[doitall]

Give it a couple of sprays with systemic weed killer, August time when it's stop growing and it'll magically die.

Catch the berries if the birds don't get them all, and don't spray if there's berries on the tree as it will kill the birds as well.

 

[Deleted2797112]

Not cordial - champagne! Made from the flowers, not the berries.

I've never had the champagne but I always have a bottle of cordial in the fridge!

Give it a couple of sprays with systemic weed killer, August time when it's stop growing and it'll magically die.

Catch the berries if the birds don't get them all, and don't spray if there's berries on the tree as it will kill the birds as well.

Systemic weedkillers only work when the plant is in full growth so that the weedkiller applied to the leaves can be transported to the roots. They don't harm birds.

I'm not sure how sucessful a modern systemic weedkiller will be on such a strongly growing suckering plant but given the access problem, there's not much choice.

 

[r896neo]

if they are too big to dig/tear out i cut them to the ground and apply awoody weed/stump killer. Its too woody for round-up to work unless its all this years soft growth.

 

[Deleted2797112]

The ranch style fence in the picture is back to back with a close-boarded fence with approx. 9" gap between them. It's completely enclosed, no access at all. I can probably get a saw or possibly loppers inbetween the planks and then paint on stump killer.

 

[endecotp]

Give it a couple of sprays with systemic weed killer, August time when it's stop growing

No, do it now while it's in full growth.

don't spray if there's berries on the tree as it will kill the birds as well.

No, weedkilleers that dangerous were banned years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate :
... it is only effective on actively growing plants...
... for terrestrial uses of Roundup minimal acute and chronic risk was predicted for potentially exposed non-target organisms ...