japanese knotweed

The perfect solution to Japanese Knotweed is to get a wife like mine! After six years of hard labour cutting it down and destroying the stems as soon as they appear, she's almost got it beat.

Seriously though, if you persevere with this weed and keep cutting it down, you do get on top of it. Otherwise using glyphosate once you've damaged the foliage works to a degree, but even then you've got to keep reapplying it, which is not good if it's near a water course or pond.

You are not allowed to dispose of it in the normal household waste or the kerb side green waste collection, its a UK thing. It needs to be burnt or taken to sites that deal with it. Speak to local council to get places to take it too. Any pieces will grow back and its a big enought problem as it is!

Spray with glyphosate in the autumn when the leaves show their first signs of changing colour - the proteins and enzymes in the leaves are absorbed by the plant for storage and this takes the glyphosate with it to the root system. It may take a couple of years to get rid of it completely.

Is it already very at home in your garden? I'm interested to hear how you get on, as I posted recently about some the other side of our garden fence on a council-owned property. Hope it goes well for you, even if it might take a while.

Like bindweed, all parts of the root need to be removed, or it will just regrow. I used to work in waste management and JK is notifiable to the Environment Agency, if found during construction works. Guidelines [for a heavy infestation] are for 7 metres dia by 1m deep removal of soil by accredited disposer, who will transport it correctly [double wrapped and sealed and lorries cleaned at the point of disposal, to prevent cross contamination. The carrier must notify the landfill company if they are carrying JK, these loads are then buried 3m deep and the landfill site is checked regularly and sprayed to prevent any stray growth. Please don't put it out with your green waste or take it to your LA recycling site, this will just spread it further. Burning at point of discovery is better.