Rampant plants that escape...

[Mercadante]

Our back garden includes a riverbank that was overgrown with Japanese Knotweed. We hacked it all down and then used a fly-mow to cut down any shoots that appeared.

Obviously it's too late now, but in case anyone else is thinking of doing this, please be careful! Mechanical cutting tends to spread the plant, as new plants can grow from even a tiny part of it, and this is especially dangerous near a stream, that can carry it along to new areas. I'd advise anyone with the problem to study this site: Japanese Knotweed Alliance

[Dan Salter]

Nice one Mercadante i was about to issue the same advice.

The last thing you really want to do with Knotweed is 'cut' it. or mow it for that matter.

just 1 gram of green shoot can produce a new plant! so when mowing i suspect bits went everywhere...you say you were successful...i say you have been extremely lucky!

Very careful cutting and disposal of the cut stems (it has to be removed from site as toxic waste) will eventually over years kill the root system as it cannot photosynthesize.

the recognised removal ( and its NOT digging it out as the roots can go down 8 feet i believe and as before the slightest piece left or dropped will produce a new plant) is to spray the new emerging shoots with herbicide continuously...which will take a year or two. Or better still is the injection method...very time consuming with big patches but each individual rhubarb type stem is intected with poison which then filters down to the system underground. or you can cut the stems all off ( and safely remove) and pour posion down the hollow stems but again its time consuming!...

I could murder those innocent/naieve plant collectors!

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by stripee

Thanks aeshna5, will see what happens...it's pretty common in south east gardens, and I don't mind leaving it if its OK here, but because it is very quick to spread, I want to be absolutely sure

yes and wait for it to be in flower that will help a lot with ID you often need an even more specialised botanist to identify a vegetative sedge....

[stripee]

ok Gill thank you, will do. I am a bit suspicious of it still

[southlonder]

I am fighting russian vine - not nice.