Q.Really Worried This Is Hog Weed Just Started Sprouting In The Garden Again . Had It Last Year Thought I Had Got Rid Of It.
in a dark area of the garden stem just above the soil about 20cm diameter about 1m high. Growing below a Bush.
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
This doesn't look like giant hogweed, the noxious weed that is dangerous to humans. Is that what you had last year? It has different leaf shapes depending on what stage of development it is in, but this doesn't look like any shown on the extension information sheets, which I am including links to. It's best to have an authority positively ID the weed if hogweed is suspected and recommend the best chemical treatment. Multiple applications of an herbicide such as riclopyr and glyphosate are usually needed. There is a common hogweed, too, and your plant doesn't look like it either. It lacks the lobed leaves of both giant and common hogweed.
https://www.inhs.illinois.edu/files/8314/9848/6126/Hogweed_and_Lookalikes_2017.pdf
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/anr-35
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/weeds/controlling-giant-hogweed.htm
