I'm not sure about that in your hand but I do see some morning glories coming up. hehe

is that paulownia tomentosa?

Here is a link that might be useful: pictures at invasive.org

That's a weed.
Bamboo is distinctive, and if you have it, you will see it eventually. LOL.

compare to
Fallopia japonica - Japanese Knotweed

Here is a link that might be useful: invasive plants - Japanese Knotweed

Looks like Japanese Knotweed to me, too. Here in NJ it's a horrible weed. Gets about 6 feet tall in big thickets that crowd everything else out. The stems look sort of jointed like bamboo, lots of people think that's what it is. (It isn't, though.)

WW

Yes - JK imo. Worst invasive in my universe bar none.

Thanks all!!! I believe the mystery is solved; I tried the link, and looked at many pictures, and Japanese Knotweed is definitely what it is! Now to get rid of it! I have sprayed Roundup on it for a couple of seasons now, but that has put a dent in them. I read where injecting directly into the stem and digging them up is a place to start. Any other ideas?

Sorry, correction: Has NOT put a dent in them.

BTW, Japanese knotweed is sometimes referred to by the common name of Mexican bamboo - who knows why! Not from Mexico and not anything like a bamboo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mexican bamboo

Just gonna say that, but you beat me to it. It's the vernacular for knotweed here and people get all excited about growing bamboo and giving each other starts on it. Nasty stuff.

TheaVC. I know some people will probably jump on me for saying this, but i NEVER use RU at the recommended strength. Too often it only knocks some of the persistant weeds back. I now always use at about 3x recommended and if that doesn't work, full strength.