This is a post from Co-Blogger Bridget Elahcene. Bridget writes about her Life At The Villas. Follow @lifeatthevillasStinging Nettles and Brown Canes
We moved into our house in early winter so the piece of ground behind the Villas that the estate agents had described as ‘amenity land’ was pretty much bereft of any vegetation – except for banks of stinging nettles and in one corner a cluster of brown canes standing about two metres tall which, being gardening rookies, we couldn’t identify and pretty much ignored …at least to begin with.
Japanese Knotweed
Months later, whilst chatting over a cup of tea with our next door neighbours, Sandra mentioned the bane of her gardening life – the Japanese Knotweed that persistently popped up in her flower bed on the other side of our shared fence. “Japanese what?” I remember thinking and our neighbour’s casual remark went on to provoke hours of research about the plant.
Japanese Knotweed (or JK as we now call it at the Villas) is a tall perennial plant which dies back in winter and re-emerges in spring. The red asparagus-like shoots start to appear in late March to early April and as they grow into canes the red colour turns into speckles on an otherwise green stem. The heart shaped leaves are bright green and about as big a your hand. In September the plants (that rapidly reach a height of two to three metres) develop abundant small white flowers that provide a good source of nectar for insects. Around November time the plant drops its leaves and flowers and the brittle hollow brown stems remain as an indicator of where the plant stood in the summer. The next year the plant will re-grow from the same spot out of what is known as the crown.
The story behind JK
The JK story started back in the nineteenth century when it was introduced to Europe as an exotic garden plant. Horticulturalists were attracted by its vigorous growth habit and its penchant to form dense screens. However it was not until as late as 1981 that the British government recognised its invasiveness and the problems that it was causing. It is now a worldwide menace.
Eradicating Japanese Knotweed
At the Villas we have endeavoured to rid ourselves of this pernicious weed in three ways:
1 Meticulously excavating and removing the root system (even the smallest part left behind will become a new plant)
2 Allowing the plant to mature a bit and injecting glyphosate into its hollow stem using a hypodermic needle then leaving to die
3 Persistently pulling up and carefully disposing of all new growth as soon as it appears
I think that it’s a combination of all three that has led us to the satisfactory state of affairs in which we at last find ourselves. We are aware that it will never be totally eradicated and all we can hope to do is control it as best we can.
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