Can someone identify this weed

[GWashington1732]

I'm trying to identify this weed, it grows everywhere at work and it's a very big nuissance. It grows like a large bush, it had clusters of red berries and large thorns. I cut it down and by the next week it's already grown back. Does anyone know what this is?

 

[Jose Wales]

Black Alder also called Winterberry, it's a decidous holly shrub.

 

[GWashington1732]

It looks like it. This crap is a pest, there's a tree of it at work with a trunk three or four inches in diameter.

 

[Rick Marchand]

It doesn't look like winter berry to me.... and definately not black alder.



That looks like Autumn Olive (also known as autumn berry, silverberry, aki-gumi, and oleaster)

They are all over around here. Are there white specles on the fruit? They are delicious. I pick them for my daughter's lunch.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1758/



Rick

 

[6shooter]

Damn, I want some of those in my backyard now. Don't think my mom would appreciate it in her garden though

 

[GWashington1732]

It doesn't look like winter berry to me.... and definately not black alder.



That looks like Autumn Olive (also known as autumn berry, silverberry, aki-gumi, and oleaster)

They are all over around here. Are there white specles on the fruit? They are delicious. I pick them for my daughter's lunch.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1758/



Rick

I think that's a winner right there. The berries look right, the leave are exactly right, it does have thorns, but not always, and this crap is invasive. It had completely overgrown the power box and the electric company was not happy with that. It killed off a whole row of maple, cedar, pine, and malberry trees. I keep cutting it down and it keeps coming back, worst part is, it comes up in the grass and we hit it with the lawn mower. I hate this stuff so much.

 

[dawsonbob]

I think that's a winner right there. The berries look right, the leave are exactly right, it does have thorns, but not always, and this crap is invasive. It had completely overgrown the power box and the electric company was not happy with that. It killed off a whole row of maple, cedar, pine, and malberry trees. I keep cutting it down and it keeps coming back, worst part is, it comes up in the grass and we hit it with the lawn mower. I hate this stuff so much.

Have you tried hitting it with a wrench?

Just kidding: I couldn't resist.

 

[GWashington1732]

Have you tried hitting it with a wrench?

Just kidding: I couldn't resist.

Believe it or not, yes I have, I lost my temper when I got one of those thorns stuck in my finger and I hit it with a big old wrench.

 

[dawsonbob]

Seems reasonable to me.

 

[GWashington1732]

Seems reasonable to me.

It actually tore it up pretty bad.

 

[dawsonbob]

The knife or the bush?

 

[GWashington1732]

The wrench tore up the bush

 

[dawsonbob]

Steel Wins! I just love it when that happens.

 

[longbow50]

Because of it's stubborn nature to go away, is it like poison oak and on a single root system with others in the area?

 

[GWashington1732]

Because of it's stubborn nature to go away, is it like poison oak and on a single root system with others in the area?

Not sure, but it is a bugger to pull out completely I'm thinking the best way to kill it is to cut it down and starve it of light.

 

[sawgrass7]

May I suggest? When you are trying to ID a plant, take pics that directly show the main stems so that it is easy to see how the leaves branch off.

My vote is autumn olive, and if that is so - it's about the last thing anyone in North Aermica should have, even with tasty fruit. That crap is invasive and detructive.
Everyone on this board should please learn about native plants and support native tree/bush/flower plantings. And remove invasives from their property.

 

[GWashington1732]

May I suggest? When you are trying to ID a plant, take pics that directly show the main stems so that it is easy to see how the leaves branch off.

My vote is autumn olive, and if that is so - it's about the last thing anyone in North Aermica should have, even with tasty fruit. That crap is invasive and detructive.
Everyone on this board should please learn about native plants and support native tree/bush/flower plantings. And remove invasives from their property.

If I need another identified I'll certainly take a picture of the whole plant. I have been cutting this crap down for months now, does anyone have an easier way to get rid of it? That's not to say hacking it down with my KaBar USMC isn't really fun.

And let's assume I can't light it on fire please.

 

[DaveinNY]

Not as much fun as a whacking it with a big ole bowie but try a mix of clorox and water in a spray bottle and coat the leaves often. Vodka also works to destroy the root system. I prefer the clorox method, keeping the vodka for a more appropriate use.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

If I need another identified I'll certainly take a picture of the whole plant. I have been cutting this crap down for months now, does anyone have an easier way to get rid of it? That's not to say hacking it down with my KaBar USMC isn't really fun.

And let's assume I can't light it on fire please.

If you're hacking it down with a Kabar, then maybe you need to invest in a nice big chopper!

Try hacking it down close to the ground and the cover it with tarps to block out the sun and encourage fungal infection. Ought to kill it quite nicely. I've seen park rangers out my way do the old cut-and-tarp trick to get rid of invasives before.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

"Young seedlings can be hand pulled, especially when the soil is moist. Plants readily resprout after cutting, but applying glyphosate to cut stumps can kill plants. This treatment is most effective in late summer. Other herbicide treatments include foliar spray and applying herbicides to the base of the trunk." (source: Invasive Plants, Kaufman/Kaufman, Stackpole, 2007, ISBN# 978-0-8117-3365-6, page 138)

Doc