Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Japanese Knotweed(part two)
I posted briefly last year on the spreading problem of Japanese Knotweed and the fact that there is no state or local govt funding or response to deal with this problem which is likely to become quite substantial in the coming years. Japanese Knotweed is a pernicious invasive species which looks quire innocuous, indeed the mature plant with its flowering stems is quite attractive. (please google to get some good photos) You will be perturbed to discover that it is popping up all over the borough in front and back gardens. It is now established in Tottenham Marshes also. This plant may just seem to have a few sprouting stems which don't threaten much, but over the years it grows and spreads underground to form a huge mass which can then break through solid concrete and invade a huge area, at which point it needs expensive and comprehensive professional treatment which can be most difficult since part of the plant may present in an unknown location ie overgrown neglected lot or private land where there is no access. Pest controllers also need permission to enter on that land which many comprise dozens of different owners etc. JK presence has meant inability to get mortgage on a property since it is powerful enough to cause problems to building integrity. This is of particular importance in the current climate when people are competing with overseas cash buyers who don't have this concern. I have recently spoken to a professional who advises the following.
If you see JK on your property
Do NOT pull or dig it up. Wait until early spring (coming soon) when the plant shows signs of vigorous growth then treat with Roundup systemic weedkiller. Maintain weedkilling treatment as instructed on product.
The Law is quite weak on this subject. It is not an offence to have JK growing on your land. It is only an offence to cause it to spread. ie if you put it in your garden waste bag. Of course there is no one tasked with doing anything about this at all.
Tags for Forum Posts: japanese knotweed
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Dick Harris on
-
There have been several patches of knotweed growing on the West bank of the New River between Wightman Road and Hamden Road. On Google maps one of three patches is at 51.584857,-0.108023, In this section efforts have been made (presumably by or on behalf of Thames Water) to kill/control the spread of this plant and we shall see how successful this has been. More worrying for householders must be the very much larger masses of knotweed growing on the East bank along the same stretch. Viewed from the footpath the weed seems to have spread right down the bank to the fences of houses backing on to the river. On the Google image there seem to be a big patches behind the section of Wightman Road between Fairfax and Frobisher Roads. I don't know whether these have been treated too or whether they have pentrated into gardens. It would interesting to know Thames Water's policy on this and what intructions they have given to the contractors who cut the grass on the river banks.
-
Permalink Reply by Rebekah Billingsley on
-
Just to add. My parents recently had their house sale fall through due to a tiny and well contained piece of JK in their garden. It is now prevalent on many mortgage conditions in the north of England. However, it doesn't always result in concrete structures being ruined if maintained. If. Councils have to be responsible to prevent it becoming as widespread as it is up there. It's everywhere.
-
Permalink Reply by pamish on
-
Lots of pics on google image. The trouble is it looks quite ordinary. It should have fangs.
-
Permalink Reply by Alison P on
-
This is quite a good example of what it looks like when it's young ...
-
-
HI Phil, perhaps this is the "Haringey Knotweed" (no, I'm not kidding) first discovered in 1987 which is a cross between the Japanese Knotweed and Russian Vine, it is unique and the only place in the world that it grows is in the Railway Fields reserve on Green Lanes
http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/community_and_leisure/greenspaces/...
-
-
Actually thats quite scary.....kinda like a Coalition Weed...looks not too bad, but before you know it its invaded all the things you thought public.....
-
-
Yes unbelievably nasty and vicious, smothering and strangling anything it regards as fair game and utilising the energy for its own growth, destroying years of constructive work; and as for the various Knotweeds.....
-
-
Dear god that's like a horticultural monster movie. The two greatest creeping fears - combined!
-
-
There is a very good example of JK growing between the paving of the house on the corner of Wightman and Cavendish Roads (the north side of Cavendish). I watched the workman cut it back and pave over it a few years ago, posted on here at the time with a query about how you were supposed to dispose of it (I asked one of the workmen at the time and he told me it was none of my business!) and have watched in wonder as it has grown back again through the mortar.
There have been discussions on HOL before about it, and I know there is someone who posts saying that it isn't as hard to get rid of as people make out and that there is an eradication industry growing with a vested interest in scaring everyone (and their mortgage company). I couldn't possibly comment on that as I've luckily not had to deal with it - but I'd certainly be really really worried if it was growing in the garden next to mine.
Once you know what it looks like you will see it everywhere - there is a lot in front gardens along St Anns Road for example. Ironically it is quite attractive - which is why I guess the Victorian botanists brought it back to the UK all those years ago...
-
Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
-
Well look what plain old gorse can do on the other side of the world. I wonder what's going to go rogue here given our new climate.
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
