Identification of invasive plant

Hi,

Wondering if anybody can help identify the below - a very aggressive weed / plant which is growing in my garden.

The main plant has grown in a flower bed, but there are now multiple shoots sprouting up in the lawn and between cracks in paving - when I try to dig the (5cm-ish) shoots out, it turns out they have massive, thich roots established already, meaning a huge whole in the lawn is required (10-20cm diameter, and I don't think I even got all the root, cut through some instead!).

The main plant grows very fast - has grown in about 3 months from pretty much nothing to the below, which is a good 2 metres tall:



There are a handful of main, woody stems, with branches coming off with, the branches each having an odd number of pinnate leaves (ie only one "level" of branching):



A typical branch looks like this (hand included for scale!):



And the leaf like this:



The leaf is very finely serated, as can be seen in this close-up:



I've tried a bunch of websites with identification guides, but not got anywhere, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

They are Ash seedlings. Pull them out, failing that, cut them down to ground level.

 

Probably wasn't seedlings, more likely, someone has chopped down an ash tree and its just trying to regrow. Best advice is to dig the roots out.

 

Is Ash really a problem? I have one poking through the hedge, but I've just left it there because it doesn't seem to be a problem. If they are really difficult to control I'll go out tomorrow and have a go at it.

 

The trouble is, lovely as they are, they self seed like mad. Those little helicopters spin dowmn from the tree and virtually every one produces a new seedling - if you let it. Best to pull or dig them up because they'll regrow from a stump. I know, I've got them everywhere!

Chris

 

Currently got one growing out of the gas box out front which I take a strimmer to every now and then hopefully it will just give up and die:o

 

Thanks for that guys - looking at pictures of Ash online, it looks like you've nailed it. Is the only way to get rid of the either the tiny seedlings or the big 2 metre mama to dig them out then, or could I use any kind of topical weed-killer?

 

ash is a devil and must be removed from wherever you find it in you garden. Always take it out in its first year directly you see the little b**** - roots and all. Larger plants that are too big to remove completely should be cut back as low as possible to the ground and the stump painted with brushwoodkiller (SBK).

In my experience they do not die from just being cut back but get bigger. Ignore them at your peril as Ash (and sycamore) has no place in the average garden

 

We have a border down between our paved drive and the fence. It's about 18 inches wide. When we moved in, the previous occupant had planted numerous ash (assuming they were done on purpose due to the spacing of them - about 8 of them up the driveway spaced evenly). We cut those down, but never did get to painting them with the stump killer - they have resprouted everywhere - so thanks for the remnder - they are truly invasive in a garden!

 

Thanks again for all the help, people... time for me to get some SBK, a saw, a trowel, and get medieval on these guys!

In answer to Shiny's question, this is our second summer in the house. I didn't notice any problem with these fellas last year, but then again the lawn was a total mess of moss and weeds, which I spent most of last summer trying to get under control. It's now largely grass, but maybe all the raking out of moss, and exposure of raked soil left the lawn open to the seed bedding in nicely?
Regarding the big fella, it's possible that I, my wife or our neighbours (the bed is between our two lawns) chopped it down last year before it became noticeable, I guess.
Presumably, if this is a young Ash tree, it is nowhere near maturity and wouldn't be seeding yet? I've not noticed any seeds / flowers. I geuss there must be a mature ash near-by doing the damage? I'll take a look around!

 

One more question - is SBK especially appropriate for this, or do products such as these do much the same job?

 

Not dousing the garden with extreme chemicals would be nice... is there a practical alternative though? What would you do with an out of control ash, Shiney?