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Originally Posted by henrya People get too het up about Japanese Knotweed. It generally only takes hold in unmanaged areas, and a lot of people find it a bonus - what else would be there? Wall to wall nettles? Learn to live with, I say, and if you really don't like it, get out there and pull it up (and dry and sell the stems for bee houses!). It grew in our garden in London when I was young, and it never escaped from the one flower bed, never attacked us or strangled the cat, and gave my brother and me hours of harmless fun building wigwams, and just watching it grow. So fast - magical!
henrya |
I think you may be on a wrong one here Henrya. This is a plant you do not ignore and if it is allowed to take hold in this country untold problems will arise. Remember Diane talks from authority regarding this problem. I don't think her assessment should be dismissed so lightly.
We have enough trouble with introduced plants, and wildlife in general, that we ought to start to fully understand the ramifications of anything that isn't supposed to be here.
Aside from plants we have seen what introduced animal and birdlife can do. Some seem to fit in ok, witness the Little Owl, but others like the Grey Squirrel (as much as I love them) and the Ruddy Duck (one of my favourite ducks) have caused untold problems. So much so that the Ruddy Duck has to all intents and purposes contributed to the fall in numbers of the White headed duck through hybridisation over in Spain. That has sparked a cull all over Britain of the Ruddy ducks because of that.
We all know that Grey Squirrels have pushed our native Red Squirrel virtually out of England now, (with only a few pockets of them left south of Scotland). The reckless release of mink into our waterways resulting in ground nesting birds succumbing to their eggs being predated.
On the plant side I am not so clued up but by comparison if introduced species to wildlife can do so much harm it stands to reason that introduced plant life could create similar problems.