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evil bloody plants (Japanese Knotweed)
The pretty plant down the road turns out to be japanese knotweed. I hear this is bad. Anyone out there got any experience of dealing with Islington Council on this?
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The problem (well, the extra problem) is that the wretched plant is not in my garden.
So I can't just go in and attack it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_knotweed
"The most effective spraying solution contains about 5%-10% glyphosate in water. (To make a 5% solution from a 40% concentrate mix 1 part concentrate with 7 parts water.) Ready-to-use solutions that contain less than 5% glyphosate are too weak and do not work. A small amount of liquid dish-washing detergent can be added to improve wetting of the leaves. If possible, both sides of the leaves should be sprayed until they are completely wet. It takes about 3 weeks for most of the plants to die. After 3 weeks, all remaining plants should be sprayed again. This process needs to be repeated until all the plants die."
"DEFRA determined that the most appropriate solution would be to release a non-native parasite of Japanese origin known as alphalara itadori at key sites where Japanese knotweed is prevalent. The parasite, or pysllid, has been known to neutralise the effect of Japanese knotweed by devouring its sap"
so I'd definitely ask the council about alphalara itadori - they could then use it on their parkland and properties inc parkland walk where it runs rampant
I had a major infestation of knotweed on council land abutting my property. I moved in not knowing what it was and got a nasty surprise. We have successfully got rid of 99% of it so dont despair. The way to eradicate it is through stem injection - have a look on the Monsanto web side for info. Its done in July/August time and becuse the plant is herbacious it sucks the poison into the rhizomes (i.e. its root system). DO NOT cut it, touch it, strim it as you will make it worse - the stronger the plants the easier they are to kill so bizarrely you should make every effort to protect them so that they have big fat tems in late Summer. As for the council, you may have to educate them on the issue. Haringey parks dept have a firm they use regularly and who sorted my problem out. The eradiocation process takes 3 seasons but in yrs 2 and three they are simply tackling the stragglers. Get Nils Battye's number off either Haringey or Southwark councils - he is very good and reliable and s the private copntractor they use. If you end up paying its going to cost you a few hundred quid but worth every penny as this stuff gropws through concrete and if it gets into your house you'll be in a pickle. hope that helps
Ann
It didn't work.
They even have tree rings, some of them!!
Despite the fact that this plant is a complete and utter menace, it is quite lovely in appearance. Rather like Muntjacs.
Silly me, it's not too late to spray the hell out of them. Roundup is intended to be sprayed on the leaves, as it will get absorbed by the plant and destroy it.
If they're pretty tall, it might be better to chop them down to stumps a foot or so high, and spray away, as the most important thing is for the roots to die.
Once plant death has been achieved, you'll need to dig up every last piece of the root system, as they can regenerate from even tiny little pieces (as I said, evil). Even if you don't get it all this year, though, they'll be more manageable next year. But be warned that Roundup is very very very toxic.
This'll help: http://landscaping.about.com/cs/weedsdiseases/a/knotweed_3.htm
Oh bugger, what do I do now? In the words of Homer Simpson, Damn You!!!
You could get animal repellent and surround the triffid zone with them, to prevent hedgehogs etc from straying in the area?
I knew what I was doing ;)