Sustainable   |   Natural   |   Organic

My Japanese Knotweed Garden Nightmare….

dsc_0011

My Japanese Knotweed Garden Nightmare….

dsc_0012

dsc_0009

Re-adapted from my sister blog: Anna’s Gardening Antics and Musings

Greetings my fellow gardeners. Thirteen years ago I purchased a beautiful old home with a tiny yard full of miscellaneous shrubs and unusual mystery plants.  I had lovely thoughts of creating a private haven of flowering vines, small fruits trees and edibles, similar to my late grandmother’s garden. I had very little knowledge at that time about gardening, so I read hundreds of books, watched gardening videos and took various classes for over a year.

The following Spring, I emerged outside with my gardening gear, ready to clean up the yard when I noticed several tall, red stalks protruding from the ground next to a concrete pad where a garage once stood. Uncertain of it’s identity, I shrugged and continued my yard work. Two weeks later, my curiosity became relentless so I took of picture of the stalks…now a good 4 feet tall and looking a bit like bamboo and sent a picture to our local extension office. Soon I received bad news, it was Japanese Knotweed.

Thus, a 11 year battle has ensued and it is ongoing as you can see. Because of the concrete pad, it has remained in a small area. At the end of the summer, the bees descend on the tiny  flowers and the birds eat the seeds.

A few more facts about this invasive weed:

Japansese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica)

  • Originated from Asia and was introduced to the US in the 1800’s as a ornamental
  • Has rhizome runners that can extend 60 feet
  • Can grow under any conditions and is listed as one of the world’s most invasive species

I have tried nearly everything to combat it organically. Next Spring, I am going to try something new.  Because it is invasive, you have to be extremely careful handling it and with it’s disposal. I have included several links to provide you with more information.

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/07/11/japanese-knotweed-driving-men-murder-257257.html

http://www.nyis.info/index.php?action=invasive_detail&id=43

garda_dibble_seed_planting_garden_tool_banner

8 Comments

  1. Home's Cool!
    June 2, 2017 at 2:55 pm

    Rather pretty. However, pretty is as pretty does. So sorry!

  2. Home's Cool!
    June 2, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    Oh, I meant to add: Kudzu, Honeysuckle, and Privet also were gifts to us from Japan. But at least those three have good medicinal herbal uses. Not sure about knotweed…

    1. The Editors of Garden Variety
      June 10, 2017 at 6:23 pm

      It has no medicinal qualities but it’s edible and quite delicious.

      1. Home's Cool!
        June 11, 2017 at 1:07 am

        Well, well, well…found it is an amazing source of resveratrol and has several other good compounds. Figure! Here is a link to the info I read. They say it’s very good for helping those with Alzheimer’s disease.
        Quite hope-giving. I suggest you mention your wonderful plant everywhere and wait for herb thieves to help themselves. It should be gone in no time. 😉

  3. Judy @ NewEnglandGardenAndThread
    June 2, 2017 at 5:10 pm

    My sympathies and I hope you win the war. 🙂

    1. The Editors of Garden Variety
      June 10, 2017 at 6:24 pm

      Thank you 🙂

  4. oldhouseintheshires
    June 4, 2017 at 3:02 pm

    How awful! This stuff is a nightmare! I have a new gardening/outdoor Linky party is you would like to join with a post (old or new).
    https://oldhouseintheshires.com/2017/06/04/mygloriousgarden-linky-week-2/

    Thanks

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Select the fields to be shown. Others will be hidden. Drag and drop to rearrange the order.
  • Image
  • SKU
  • Rating
  • Price
  • Stock
  • Availability
  • Add to cart
  • Description
  • Content
  • Weight
  • Dimensions
  • Additional information
  • Attributes
  • Custom attributes
  • Custom fields
  • Sold
  • Shipping
Click outside to hide the compare bar
Compare
Compare ×
Let's Compare! Continue shopping
1
0