Not Virginia Creeper. We have that here. It's not traveling on a vine, but more like individual soft-bodied stems stretching out and then it seems like it will root and keep going. Va. Creeper grows differently. Not describing it very well I guess. A new batch of leaves seems to come up from the center of the plant. It could be that it would have a flower bud, but for now the rabbits seem to be eating that part. Thank you so much for attempting to help. It sure has me stumped.

Happily, I haven't had to deal with knotweed personally... but it doesn't sound good - this is one tough and invasive plant. Hopefully someone else (or your county extension agent) will have some suggestions for efficient long term removal, but it looks to me like you will be at this for a while and will need to use more than one method of control. Wish I had better news... Mechanical Large colonies of this species are extremely difficult to dig up due to their high rhizome densities. Digging of large colonies is not recommended as it is very labor intensive and unlikely that all below ground material can be removed. Small patches may be dug, however care should be used in removing plant material as improper disposal can spread the species further. Repetitive cutting or mowing within a single growing season to deplete stored reserves and remove photosynthetic tissue has been effective. Eradication of the rhizome system is necessary for control of this aggressive invasive species. Chemical Herbicide has been generally effective at controlling this species. Repetitive cutting of stems with spot application of Roundup®, Accord® or Glypro® to the stumps, and foliar spraying in large populations has been reported to be successful. Biological There are currently no biological controls available for Japanese knotweed.

I live in central NH, and probably have similar soil (though perhaps finer in texture) since I have fine sandy acid loam. My property is geologically new soil, on the site of a glacial lake, so very little organic matter (and virtually no rocks, unusual for this part of NH.) I am going to respectfully disagree with Ken about the organic matter. I typically add about 6 inches of well aged manure to the entire bed before planting to provide some organic matter and help with moisture retention and mix it in with a spading fork. Then I plant shrubs not adding anything specifically to the planting hole, and mulch well with a layer of cardboard topped with 5" of so of loose wood curls (commercial mulch would do the same thing) that probably weather down to about 3". This helps keep moisture even and weeds down. I usually also edge with the big box store black plastic edging buried to ground level and place a line of bricks inside for the mower wheels to run on to keep out grass. I've done this with my shrub borders and it has worked well with little work, though I do renew the mulch every 2-3 years. My suggestion would be a staggered row of mixed evergreens and several of one type of flowering shrub either sprinkled along the length or in a solid row along one side to give you an ornamental yet functional hedgerow. A full-sized cultivar of Hydrangea paniculata such as Limelight, Pinky Winky, or Quickfire (blooms early July until hard frost) or else Physocarpus/ninebark would work well. In my shrub bed both are healthy, bloom well, and provide long season interest in full to mostly sun. Some other alternatives for part to full sun include some of the PJM family of rhododendrons, Hydrangea arborescens such as Annabelle (needs afternoon shade), or Kalmia/mountain laurel. The only maintenance I do on my H. paniculata and arborescens is a once a year trim of the old blossoms, and I do even less on the ninebark, mountain laurel, and rhododendrons. My evergreens are a mix of Fat Albert blue spruce (probably too large for your use here) and two types of Thuja occidentalis, Sunkist and Techny, but you may want something a bit smaller. This mix is low care, blocks sight relatively well after about 5 growing seasons, and has spring or summer flowers (depending on which of the flowering shrubs you use) and a mix of winter colors. This photo includes several of the plants I mentioned: Coppertina ninebark on the left, a rhododendron, Quickfire Hydrangea (in fall colors - it starts blooming white), Fat Albert blue spruce, and immediately behind the Hydrangea are Thuja Sunkist on the left and Thuja Techny on the right.

Macranthos, you just may be right, at least about the catalpa. My wood pile is there too and.... a couple of years ago I picked up some catalpa wood that a neighbor had cut down and I can imagine that some seeds finally made their way into the soil and have sprouted. Too funny - and amazing. As for the jewelweed, I'm wondering. I was reading up about it and I'm not quite convinced that the leaf shape is quite right, but there IS poison ivy growing behind my native bed, in my neighbor's yard. And jewelweed is "nature's remedy" for poison ivy. Do you know if it tends to grow near poison ivy?