Have you been relentlessly upset by the energy and time, much less the money, that you invest in totally eradicating Japanese knotweed from your garden, just to discover the spot green and healthy with new shoots a few days after?  This weed has been a big problem in United Kingdom for sometime.  Not long after its launch in the 1800’s, the plant has raided a lot of United Kingdom’s wastelands and land area.  It has posed a real threat to the native plant species as they are very resistant to numerous methods of eradication.  They crowd out native species and lower the species diversity in the region.

There have been very many ways employed to handle the growth and spread of the invasive Japanese knotweed, from pesticides to carefully removing the plants to adding its natural parasite, Aphalara itadori.  These psyllids, as they are called, are sap-sucking insects which are also native to Japan from where the weed also originated.  Aphalara itadori  is named jumping plant louse. The planned use of this psyllid is supported by scientific investigations from CABI but not everybody are thrilled to the concept.

The research has reached over some six years, testing more than two hundred preventive measures and has decided that the jumping plant louse is the perfect choice among all these.  It further lays down the explanation that makes this psyllid the best option, which is the reality that it is a sap-sucking insect, thus it is host limited.  This is to pacify arguments that the insect might relocate to local plants as soon as it is introduced into the ecosystem.  The insect will stunt its growth and make it less aggressive.  The insects will sip the juice from the plant in their larva stage.  These may not absolutely kill off the harmful weed.  The purpose is to render them more adaptable and make the control method more sustainable in the long run as well as cheaper.  An incredible sum of roughly 1.6 billion pounds yearly is used up on eradicating Japanese knotweed.

The addition of a non-indigenous species into the UK presents a biological threat, a lot of doubting Thomases say.  What took place in Australia after using cane toads being an organic pest control for beetles in 1935, just turned into an environmental menace today, may likewise occur in United Kingdom.  Another example was the introduction of harlequin ladybirds in some European countries for ecological control but it just needed them a short time to cross over the English Channel and placed the British ladybirds in danger.  Japanese knotweed removal by the introduction of the jumping plant louse is going to be a lengthy deliberation.  The showdown of these two, the Japanese knotweed and its leading rival, the jumping plant louse, will not happen in the near future.

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Japanese knotweed is known to be a cause of worry for a lot of people like builders, gardeners, land developers, and land holders themselves. It can bring a good deal of destruction to properties and structures such as roads, drains, pavements, and buildings. They are so intrusive that they impede native plants from propagating in the garden. Their earliest home ground is in the harsh hillsides of Japan. Hence, they can definitely mature and flourish in poor soils.

Due to the troubles that the plant can cause, you would certainly want to eradicate them particularly as they spread in your garden or near your properties. Although for you to dispose of them, it is of course vital that you spot them. The plant can be described as a dense clump, which grows a stem of up to two to three meters tall. It has red, truncate leaf stalks and stems. Its leaves are wide with a lighter green shade underneath. Its flowering season is from August to October, and its blossoms are white.

Don’t you know that regulations have been enforced relating to the proliferation and elimination of this perennial weed? You can even get litigated for letting it grow and proliferate onto other properties. The laws that govern this are The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, The Environmental Protection Act 1990, and The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991.

The readily obtainable ways for dealing with Japanese knotweed include herbicide application, excavation and removal from landfill, bund treatment, burial and cell burial, and the use of root barriers.

Nevertheless, this plant is such a survivor that eliminating this appears to be easier said than done. Among the things that you need to do is to contain it by using plastic or poly tarps and hiding it. Containing it earlier in spring will also help prevent its development. Ensure that you have totally concealed all parts of the plant. This is to prevent it from getting exposed to daylight.

Other methods of eliminating it is by cutting off the entire plant which, of course, consists of its roots and runners. However, be sure that you correctly dispose it in a dumpster or else it will try to grow once more right in the area from which you attempted to take it off. You can also take advantage of another eradication process that is by chopping its stem two inches beyond the ground level and applying a twenty-five percent of glyphosate and water onto the sliced part.

A survivor in nature, Japanese knotweed can be quite difficult to remove. While you can use the pointers mentioned above, you can likewise seek the assistance of a firm that specializes in the eradicartion of Japanese knotweed.

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With a scientific name of Fallopia japonica, Japanese knotweed is a herbaceous plant that is native to eastern Asia, particularly in China, Japan, and Korea.  It has hollow stems with distinct nodules, making it look like a bamboo, although the two plants are not closely associated.

Even if the most often used scientific name of the plant nowadays is Fallopia japonica, it is also known in other scientific names: Polygonum cuspidatum and Reynoutria japonica.  The latter is its oldest name, which was given in 1777 by a Dutch botanist.  Furthermore, its other English names include elephant ears, donkey rhubarb, fleeceflower, Himalayan fleece vine, Hancock’s curse, and pea shooters.

There are many applications for Japanese knotweed.  Beekeepers value the plant as it is a significant supplier of nectar for honeybees during a certain time of the year when there is little flowering.  It produces monofloral honey, which is also called as bamboo honey.  Moreover, the plant’s young stems are safe to eat, which taste similar to mild rhubarb.  It is a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.

Another known application of the plant is that it is an origin of resveratol, the same substance found in the red wine and skin of grapes.  The substance helps lower bad cholesterol, hence lowering the possibility of heart attacks.  One more helpful compound obtained from this plant is emodin, which helps normalize bowel motility.  Likewise, the plant is in particular useful because of its capacity to stay alive at whatever time of the year and in severe situation.

However, in so far as Japanese knotweed has many uses, it is considered as horrible plant particularly in North America and in Europe.  During the 19th century, the plant was brought to Europe and the United States, and it was used to give food to animals, as an decorative plant, and to stop soil erosion.  The plant has been discovered to be a problem, nevertheless.

It is regarded as one of the world’s one hundred most horrible invasive species.  It is considered as a serious threat to land developers, builders, and gardeners.  Moreover, the problems it might cause include mutilation to pavements, roads, drains, walls, and even buildings.  It may also occupy river banks, therefore preventing entry to rivers.  Another Japanese knotweed problem is that it spreads quickly and easily.  It can expand from small parts of root cuttings, and it can grow to three to four inches a day.  As a result of the damage that this kinds of plant can cause, the UK for instance has created the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.  The Act prohibits its growth in the wild.

The Japanese knotweed, definitely, has two qualities. It is a benefit and a burden all at once. And, it cannot be immediately disregarded as a good or a bad weed at the same time.

Tags: garden, Japanese Knotweed, Japanese Knotweed Solutions, Japanese Knotweeds, Knotweeds, plant, weeds