Maybe poke, although I don't think so, a little hard to tell from the
pictures. It might also be pigweed , Amaranthus retroflexus
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/amare.htm.

I understand that you are frustrated by trying to control this weed, but
it's a bad idea to pour gasoline on the ground. It contaminates the
groundwater, is probably illegal where you live, and as you have noted, not
always effective anyway.

For either poke or pigweed, you can pull small plants in the spring, and dig
up the larger ones. If you miss some of the root, they will attempt to
regrow, but if you are diligent about pulling/cutting the new growth, the
root will exhaust itself. It's probably impractical to aim for total
eradication; both plants set plentiful seeds, and poke berries in particular
are a favorite of birds and get spread through them.

Cheers,
Sue

--

Zone 6, South-central PA


"kate" wrote in message
...


gntry wrote:

I hope someone here can help me...my yard is being overrun by this
plant...Roundup does nothing to it, digging the roots out hasn't helped,
even gasoline doesn't do anything....aaarrrgghhh!!!!!! The stem is red,
the
leaves have red veins, the stem is about 1/2 around, will grow to about
6'
if left alone...I think maybe some kind of bamboo???
In someone's infinite wisdom, I would hope someone can put a name to
this
beast....please. Any how to get rid of it for good.
Thanks any and all.
www.buffnet.net/~gntry/1weed
www.buffnet.net/~gntry/2weed

Looks like Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) to me.