Wow, it's very beautiful! It looks like ornamental rheum. I just learned about rheum last week. :D

Well i sure wish you lived across the road from me!! I'd dig it up and wheel it over!

I checked some pics of rheum and i don'tthink that's what it is. BUT - I have figured out how to do bigger pictures.. here they are again....

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I have no idea what it is and I am not in your zone but wow, what a plant! Don't you just want to let it go and see what it does? I sure would.

I'm pretty sure it's a weed. The name escapes me right now...I have comfrey stuck in my mind, but not sure if it's that. I had a bunch on my lot when I moved here and thought it was an ornamental, too. Learned later it's a weed with a VERY deep root.

Yes, it is burdock. The taproot is deep, do your best to get it all out.

Burdock...that's it! I hate it when my mind goes blank. LOL.
Even after you think you got it out, it returns. Take it out again, and again...until you deplete it of nutrients. Even after nine years, when I first dug them out, I still find a seedling popping up.

I have them coming up every year in the same spot. Always rip them out ASAP but they come right back. Probably one of those plants that ill resprout from the tiniest bit of root. Maybe pull out what you can and treat the stub with Round-up?

Thanks all, yes it matches the burdock pics exactly. Can you believe it's even grown more since yesterday when I took those pics? I was reading that they're somewhat edible... Hmmm. Today, spaghetti and burdock salad. Tomorrow, burgers and grilled burdock. Friday, burdock soup... and it's apparently a good medicine too. Oh well, it's still being excavated!

I think burdock was one of the successes when I tried using cider vinegar as a weed killer. Just sprayed it on full strength. Been a few year since I tried that, not sure anymore. Vinegar is CHEAPER than Roundup.

I am sure they are edible, my BIL took a survival course and had to eat some. Not sure which part though.

Looks similar to a horseradish a friend had. In any case, sometimes a 'wicked-out of place' plant with a large taproot will succumb to a tablespoon of salt applied to the freshcut stem. Remove ALL the green leaves, salt just on the root top and if you have a tuna can, cap and lay a rock on top. Used this method to rid an acre lawn of 50 or so Bull Thistles-the ones that look like they are on steroids. Good luck!

Burdock is edible -- it's actually delicious, in Japan they use it a lot, BUT unfortunately the common weed in this country is the wrong kind -- Arctium minus instead of A. lappa. However, if you're ever in a Japanese restaurant and see something called kinpira gobo on the menu, it's julienned burdock sauteed with carrot and sesame oil and soy sauce, and it's yummy. Too bad ours isn't!

Had to check back here to find out what the giant green thing was. Holy Cow! That was some weed. I'm in Washington and I have yet to see a weed like that. Oh sure we have weeds aplenty but not like that monster. And to think I would have let it go and then probably have lost my car in it one day. LOL

I got one of those, no where near that big, I got it out of one place, but it came back in another next to the compost bin.

Oh well, at least I know what to call it when Im cussing it out.

:)

Hahahaha, Doris, I'm sure I'll be cussing it too when it comes back. I know after digging it out for an hour, I didn't get it all.

Oh man. The root was HUGE. About 7 inches in diameter... it had a nice fresh fragrance.. I debated dragging into the kitchen for a gourmet experiment but the coin toss got it into the compost bin or next to it at least... I'm glad I didn't try cooking it after reading your post, Jayco!

Bluesunflower, lol i know! I swear it was growing 3 inches a day... btw I saw your pics on the May flowers thread. You are an amazing photographer and your garden is just gorgeous! Woweeee...

Goodhors and blueberrier, thanks for the home remedy suggestions... I'll definitely need them for some large thistles.

Actually I think it's edible, it's just not supposed to be as good as the other kind. I'm not sure what that means, but next time give it a whirl. I think you're supposed to soak it first, though.

I have a book on edible wild plants. It says you prepare and use the root as you would a carrot--stews, soups, etc. The plant is such a nuisance around here I couldn't make myself eat it.

I got one of them bad boys myself & it did not succumb to the poison Ivy strength Round Up last year. I will have to try some of those other techniques this year.

I was feeling quite smug back in 2009 when I dug out the burdock, root and all. Last summer I noticed a little one, and ignored it. This year, I have been punished with about 12 more of these plants, all bigger and taller than the original. One of them has grown up through my Japanese Maple, and is about 8 ft high, lol. I suppose I'll try vinegar and then Round-Up this time. Sounds like it's worth smuggling across the border into Canada. I had a good chuckle at a lot of the comments on this very old thread - enjoy :)