I know what you mean about how that nasty plant can just about drink roundup, even at 2x and 4x the regular strength it barely slows it down! I've even lopped off the branch crown and poured the stuff straight down the hollow stems, and all for barely any effect.

They are a hard plant to pull out. And if you leave any of that root behind, you know its gonna come back next year (or even later in the same season!) Only on certain "perfect days" when the soil has just the right moisture content can you easily slip them right out of the ground. On those days, I go nuts and pull as many as I can. (But I still have 1000 more to go)

I've found the only way to control this plant is to stop the seeds from growing and spreading. So, I wait until the plants have produced flowers/seeds, and the seeds start to form, but are not yet mature. Then I walk threw them all and lop off the branches and crowns that have seeds. This will control its spread as it tries to march across my land, and also drain the plant of a lot of its stored root energy. However, you will soon find that the beheaded stalks will soon form brand new seed clusters within a few weeks. Once again, wait until they are not-quite mature, and then once again, chop off the plants wherever you see the seeds. This cycle will repeat until fall, when you finally notice that the plant barely has any energy to keep regrowing and setting seeds and then it dies back for the winter.

Eventually these plants get weaker and weaker and I'm finding that I no longer have any of those 8 foot monsters that I used to see here. What used to be a complete infestation is now a series of isolated patches, and each year, those patches are getting smaller and smaller as I continue my attacks and reclaim my land.

good luck to you.

ps - some people have said the sap of pokeweed can cause an itch on the skin, although I've never been affected myself, thankfully. You might want to dab a bit on your skin and wait a day to look for a reaction before you jump in the midst of all those leaves with that machete.

good luck to you. don't give up.

Here's the trick with RoundUp. Cut the plant back to the ground and wait for succulent new growth to appear. As soon as it does, paint it with RoundUp, with a few drops of horticultural oil mixed in. Keep doing so whenever some new growth emerges and you could be done with it for good.

Never, ever let it grow up and go to seed.