japanese knotweed

New Home

I see lots of sorrel and dandelions (both edible, the former in moderate quantities, and ideally raw, it's very tangy).

New Home

As for this one, is it a forsythia? Were the branches covered in yellow flowers in spring (or shocking pink, at a push)?

pawdee

Autumn update............

I took a couple of days off last week to tackle the rest of my knotweed infestation. I bought a (cheap) injector gun on Amazon thinking I'd fly through the job. It certainly looked the part and felt solidly built but what a disaster it proved to be. I could live with the fact that the reservoir bottle holds only 120 ml of fluid. The fact that the injector mechanism came apart after every 3 or 4 injections was another matter. Another problem was the full dose of herbicide shooting back out at me and all over my (gloved) hand almost every time I took the needle out a treated stem.

I put it down to lack of experience and decided to persevere until I got the technique down. That was when I discovered the first wasp nest under a knotweed crown. Six stings to the hands and legs later I went indoors for a cup of tea and a rethink. Upon resumption, with the gun still acting the b****x and the wasps as angry as ever, I decided to change tactics. So, out with the loppers, measuring jug and funnel. I cut every remaining stem down to below the first node and filled them with a 1:1 mix of Roundup Biactive XL. I'm talking about a big area (approx 40 m x 7m). I managed to get it 99% done at the weekend. There are a few stems at the edges here and there that I left there as I'm out of Roundup.

It will be interesting to see what comes back next year. If it works as well as the patch I did last year I'll be very happy. If nothing else I'll have a very large scale, real-world trial of the injection versus stem filling methods. I'll report back next May or June and good luck to everyone else fighting the war

pablo57

looksee wrote: »

Nope, nothing even remotely resembling japanese knotweed - though I would take out that sycamore growing beside the wall, second last pic I think. It will soon become a liability just there.

Thanks, I'll get on that!

New Home wrote: »

I see lots of sorrel and dandelions (both edible, the former in moderate quantities, and ideally raw, it's very tangy).

New Home wrote: »

As for this one, is it a forsythia? Were the branches covered in yellow flowers in spring (or shocking pink, at a push)?

We're only in the house 6 weeks, so I couldn't tell you what it looked like in spring. Would forsythia require some particular attention?


Apologies, complete gardening newbie here. (And one with a bit of garden all of a sudden!)

New Home

Apart from some thinning/pruning, not really - I leave the ones I have here to their own devices and they absolutely thrive. They're gorgeous, when they're in full bloom in spring.

looksee

Wow, yes they are spectacular. I had one squashed in between an apple tree, a shed and a wall and every spring it produced a lovely show of blooms, then the rest of the year was pretty much unnoticed. I cut great chunks out of it at intervals - it was difficult to get at so it wasn't so much pruning as sawing off random bits!

New Home

Just to be clear, that's not a photo of mine, I got that off the internet.

looksee

Ah dang, and I was so impressed!

Pacifico

Have noticed the attached growing up through my patio recently...just wondering if it's possibly JK?! Apologies for the poor pics...

pawdee

Pacifico wrote: »

Have noticed the attached growing up through my patio recently...just wondering if it's possibly JK?! Apologies for the poor pics...

I'm 99.9% sure that it's not JK.

magicbastarder

it's not. it's a willowherb, i think - rooted in the cracks in the patio rather than actually growing up through it.

my3cents

magicbastarder wrote: »

it's not. it's a willowherb, i think - rooted in the cracks in the patio rather than actually growing up through it.

fyp

magicbastarder

heh - though i think the first photo shows seedpods like you'd see on a willowherb?

New Home

I'd say that the first photo shows willowherb, and the second willows (there seems to be more than one).

my3cents

magicbastarder wrote: »

heh - though i think the first photo shows seedpods like you'd see on a willowherb?

Sorry, both in fact, but I picked on the willows as they are likely to be more of a nuisance in the long term if they get bigger and start moving the slabs around.

Citizenpain

pawdee wrote: »

I'm 99.9% sure that it's not JK.

100% —get off the fence

pawdee

Ok, on closer inspection I can say with 100% certainty that it's NOT Japanese Knotweed. BUT....... I'd still be VERY worried. How do we know that some rhizomes from my garden (in West Kerry) haven't grown underneath those paving slabs? As everyone knows, Japanese knotweed roots can grow HUNDREDS of miles in every direction. It can also burst through 6 metres thick of reinforced 40N concrete. Only the other day as I walked through my garden a stalk of knotweed that I missed during treatment SNAPPED at my ankle. Just be very, very careful is all I'm saying. Don't take any chances. Get the specialists in. They'll dress up like astronauts, fence off the area and spray 50 euros worth of glyphosate over a 3 year period. Believe me, it'll be the best 3k you'll ever spend!

Shefwedfan

Pacifico wrote: »

Have noticed the attached growing up through my patio recently...just wondering if it's possibly JK?! Apologies for the poor pics...

Some people are going a small bit overboard....


Do you have a license for proper weed killer? If not do you know a local farmer or relative



Get some proper Roundup or equivalent and spray the area.


Wait till the weeds die and then watch next year to see if it returns, then spray again....


Specialist and dressing up in astronaut suits for a weed???? spending 3k???? best money ever spent??? all craziness


http://theconversation.com/japanese-knotweed-is-no-more-of-a-threat-to-buildings-than-other-plants-new-study-99580



What they will do, even if they don't know its knotweed, because most of them have no idea what it is. They will mark your house as having infection. Then when you try to sell good luck to that.

Truckermal

I sprayed mine with Garlon a few weeks ago so I'm hoping it kills it! It's 65 quid for a 1 litre bottle!

my3cents

Truckermal wrote: »

I sprayed mine with Garlon a few weeks ago so I'm hoping it kills it! It's 65 quid for a 1 litre bottle!

Probably the wrong herbicide for the time of year but even so it won't have done the JK any good

Its not a weed you can get rid of in a season so its more a matter of getting into the habit of spraying it every year till it doesn't come back.

Garlon would be good imo for an early spray and a mid summer follow up. For the Autumn unless you have access to some of the newer chemicals I'd go back to good (or bad) Roundup (or other glyphosate herbicide).

Truckermal

my3cents wrote: »

Probably the wrong herbicide for the time of year but even so it won't have done the JK any good

Its not a weed you can get rid of in a season so its more a matter of getting into the habit of spraying it every year till it doesn't come back.

Garlon would be good imo for an early spray and a mid summer follow up. For the Autumn unless you have access to some of the newer chemicals I'd go back to good (or bad) Roundup (or other glyphosate herbicide).

The Garlon completely wiped it out as a area that I couldn't spray has fresh growth allready so Garlon works!

pawdee

Spring update.......

I'm now at the stage where I've dug out all of the dead rhizome crowns and dead roots that I could see. I've leveled and raked the topsoil so, as soon as we can get our hands on some grass seed, we'll be seeding the lawn. It's taken almost 3 years to eradicate a patch measuring roughly 40 x 7 m. I set a lawn on the first area I treated 2 years ago and nothing has come back since. In the more recently treated (and much bigger) area about four shoots have appeared this spring. Given the jungle that was there I'm not overly surprised or concerned. I'll leave them alone until late summer / autumn and then blast them with Roundup.

I don't want to get complacent and I'll be keeping a close eye on things from now on. It's a pity the previous owners allowed it to take hold to such an extent. It was literally a jungle and it took a hell of a lot of hard work to get rid of it. I used stem injection, cut and fill, and spray methods. All worked equally well. It was nice to have a beer in the middle of a nice level topsoiled garden yesterday evening with the moon rising and the birds singing. Felt like some kind of victory. I learned one thing along the way. It's one b*****d of a weed. I'll update again in the autumn and hopefully I'll have a nice lawn by then. I'll post some before and after photos to inspire others fighting the battle. Cheers!

Truckermal

Great stuff I only noticed today I have a few shoots coming up too but nothing like before, should I nuke these now with Roundup?

pawdee

Truckermal wrote: »

Great stuff I only noticed today I have a few shoots coming up too but nothing like before, should I nuke these now with Roundup?

I'm far from an expert and I'm sure a lot of professionals would disagree with the approach I've taken. However, my understanding is that if you spray knotweed at this time of year or in summer what you'll achieve is only top kill. I'd say you're better off letting whatever shoots that appear to grow until late summer / early autumn. Spraying them then will ensure that they draw the glyphosate down to their roots as they begin to hibernate for winter. As I said, I'm no expert and I've heard people say it's a good idea to zap them as they appear. It's tempting but if it was me I'd wait!

Shefwedfan

Truckermal wrote: »

Great stuff I only noticed today I have a few shoots coming up too but nothing like before, should I nuke these now with Roundup?

Nuke them


I seen some coming up the following year, nuked them and have never seen them again!!

dball

dont spray them until they flower - probably late august or September is best advice.

Spraying now and they will conserve/use their energy that they have for growing above ground into their roots and crowns and will pop up in more places.

like a virus, slow and steady when the time is right. Not currently

beolight

pawdee wrote: »

I'm far from an expert and I'm sure a lot of professionals would disagree with the approach I've taken. However, my understanding is that if you spray knotweed at this time of year or in summer what you'll achieve is only top kill. I'd say you're better off letting whatever shoots that appear to grow until late summer / early autumn. Spraying them then will ensure that they draw the glyphosate down to their roots as they begin to hibernate for winter. As I said, I'm no expert and I've heard people say it's a good idea to zap them as they appear. It's tempting but if it was me I'd wait!

Well done 👠have been that solider in the trenches before. Many fond memories...... not ....my heart palpitations when that orange root Spaghetti junction can be spotted and then sieving every bit of soil around it for any small bit of it that may have escaped and then you spot the orange flesh glinting ( off roads from the spaghetti junction) at you in the next sod that has to be done that’s when you realise your in it for the long haul. Everyone got brushed with non concentrated round up just in case my heart wasn’t in it the next day

For now vigilance is the key another poster has asked about new growth appearing all I can say is what I done was wipe it with round up once i seen any growth at all Then I let it die off and then using a fiskars weed extractor I removed it you will get a golf hole size extract of the soil. Next you sieve it and you should be able to gently shake the soil of the JK if your lucky you will find the end piece where it shot up from if both ends are dead job done if any end ( piece) shows the shiny orange flesh when you break it you know the battle is not fully won but you know where to look

To original poster with a section that big ( mines was about 10m2 growing into neighbours) you will have missed small pieces, they might not shoot up this year but next year and the year after and after don’t let your vigilance drop

pawdee

Here's a before picture anyway (I hope)..........

New Home

:eek:

pawdee

I'm having awful trouble uploading photos. I tried compressing and all sorts but I'm not great at this kind of thing. Obviously! I'll have an after photo asap.