"Ray Jenkins" wrote in message
...
We have a weed which is almost a tree. My wife thinks it is called redbud.
The trunk is tube-type, almost like bamboo, but the leaves look almost
like
a maple leaf.

We cut it back, but it always comes back stronger. Standard weed-killers
don't seem to work.

If anyone has any ideas about how to kill this monster, we'd like to hear
them.

The tube-like stem sounds very much like Japanese knotweed, Polygonum
cuspidatum, although the leaves a more spade shaped than maple-like in
appearance. Will generate groves and produces foamy white flowers. This is a
serious noxious weed in many parts of the country. Do a google search under
the common name - you will turn up dozens of sites addressing this invasive
species and suggested methods of control. Not an easy plant to get a handle
on, tho.

FWIW, redbud is the common name for a rather desirable small ornamental
tree, Cercis species and cultivars. Solid woody truck and stems and hot pink
flowers in early spring before it leafs out. Not typically considered a
weed by most authorities :-))

pam - gardengal