Have no idea what it is. Burdock is often called wild rhubarb. IF its like
cultivated Rhubarb, the plant will die after sending up a seed head. The
trick is to let the seedhead mature just enough to make the plant think it
has succeeded at reproducing and than cut the seed head off before it has
openned and than burn it. The plant dies the next year.
Burdock on the whole is immune to pesticides.

"rivergarden" wrote in message
...

Hi all. As i've said before I'm brand new to gardening so I hope this is
an obvious question and easily answered. I have inherited a fairly damp
garden and a plant that I was told was wild rhubarb, though looking on
the net I would say not, is sprouting up everywhere.

Its description follows: very rapidly growing, starts with red fairly
think single shoot, growing to 1 inch wide single stem with thin broad
leafed branches forming wide leafy canopy. Stems are hollow in nature
and are green with red flecks. Live plants are easily snapped making it
impossible to pull the roots up via the stalk. Dead plant forms brittle
fragile hollow tubes to about 2m tall.

My questions as I say are what is it? has it any use - edible? How do I
make it die - bearing in mind its everywhere making it nearly impossible
to dig up.

Any thoughts?




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rivergarden