Could you post a close-up picture of the plant itself - leaves, any flowers, how it appears when it is undisturbed? There are several real thugs that have that underground runner way of growing, and it would more helpful if we knew which one you are dealing with so bravely.

No flowers. Just leafy greens here that sprout up alarmingly quickly...Thank you!!!

I can't id the greenery but there seems to be a mismatch in the nature of that and the roots. The latter look a lot more like roots of a tree or a woody vine rather than herbaceous weed. Are you absolutely certain the two are physically connected?

I agree with floral - generally that type of persistent root structure is not compatible with the delicate, tender shoots of the green stuff we are seeing. I'd be interested in what that might be growing behind the fence.....it would seem to be a much more likely candidate for the source of the roots.

Very interesting. I am not certain they're connected, but assumed they might be. The greens pull up very easily but also grow back very quickly. The neighbors have these trees and buds and things drop into my yard. I've been ripping up all the roots because I was thinking that's the only way to disrupt the greens but I think these roots might be related to some of the tree stumps in backyard.

SF has a lot of rules about building and whatever else, so I am not allowed to use pesticides, so not sure what if I should just mix some salt water together and spray the roots?

Thank you!

I think you need to determine where the roots are coming from before you do much more. Depending on the source plant, how you treat the roots could have a bearing on the ongoing health of that plant and most municipalities can hold you responsible for killing or seriously damaging a plant not on your property. If you can, provide photos of the neighbor's plants that are peeking over the fence and hopefully we can ID them for you. Once ID'd, we can make better recommendations about how you can handle the roots that have invaded your property. But you certainly don't want to dose anything with salt or salty water - that could make growing anything else in that area very difficult.

btw, you may want to reread your city ordinances. According to all the literature I could find, that pesticide restriction does not apply to privately owned property - it only applies to City owned property: "San Francisco city staff have been national leaders in integrated pest management (IPM) since the City passed its Integrated Pest Management Ordinance in 1996. The Ordinance governs the way pests are managed on all City properties, but does not apply to private property."

Thanks so much! I am going to check out the city ordinances for San Francisco. I only have a rule in my lease to not use any pesticides. I'm wondering if the best thing to do would then be to get some and put down a new layer of thick, black plastic and then put more dirt over the lawn?

Thank you!

NO on the black plastic. You will just end up with what you have now...weeds coming up through holes. Plastic does not last and becomes brittle. Over time dirt and other matter will be deposited on top of the plastic and grow weeds on top.

Hi all! I'm having trouble finding the relevant literature on the pesticides/herbicides for private property. The ordinances and codes referenced above were only for City of SF/County of SF property. I can't tell if all herbicides are considered pesticides.

So these weeds grow incredibly fast and the greenery is connected to the roots. The more roots I pull up and let dry out, the easier they've become to pull out. And slowly some of the green isn't coming back. I have held off spraying more vinegar or salt water but have started to move the rocks because they're in the way.

Very few of the weeds have flowers but a few did. I took more pictures if anyone knows what plan this is. I want to redo the dirt as the back yard won't be paved. I want a grilling area and then I would ultimately like to have some raised plant beds. Help help! Thank you!

The top two pictures are Lonicera japonica, Japanese Honeysuckle, a very intransigent invasive alien.

The white bell shaped flowers belong to Salpichroa origanifolia. It is also an exotic invasive species.

Since both are invasive species you might find that the local authorities can give you advice on your problem.

Thank you! I read more about the salt water and how it will be very difficult to get rid of in the soil. It turns out that I can use Round Up so will do a course of that. . I saw that salt is a good idea for killing some of the tree stumps.

I can't find the mother plant--the roots are so extensive. There are 4+ old tree stumps in the back yard that are sort of buried under the rocks, so I am guessing one of the mother plants are those. I can see my neighbor's back yards and I am not seeing anything I think that may be related and I don't have any way of finding this out so I am going to chance it. Thank you for the clarification on pesticides and sharing these species!

Neither of the plants in your pictures will be coming from an old tree stump. They are spreading vines.

Ooooh, nice ID floral!! I had concluded it was a member of the Solanaceae but got no further than that :-) btw, Japanese honeysuckle is not yet considered invasive on the west coast........not to say it won't happen at some point in time.

I've only known it myself for a couple of weeks ;-) It came up on the Weeds Forum.