Gardeners all over the UK are being urged to get outside and look for a potentially harmful plant before the colder weather of winter sets in. Japanese knotweed is a highly invasive plant that spreads easily, whether that’s through disturbed soil or fragments falling from a neighbour’s property.
It’s estimated to be found in around five out of every 100 gardens in the UK. However, despite being well-known, it’s often mistaken for common plants with similar characteristics. Confusing knotweed with a harmless plant can lead to significant issues, including expensive treatment plans and potential private nuisance claims from neighbours.
If left unchecked, the infestation can cause material damage to structures, devalue a property and impede the use of amenity land. With so much at stake, homeowners should be aware of the characteristics that make knotweed easily identifiable.
Jennifer Holmes from Japanese Knotweed Ltd said: “It’s crucial all home and land owners know how to spot knotweed because its early detection can reduce costs to remove or control it. It’s not OK to simply ignore knotweed – or not be vigilant about looking for it.
“Knotweed will encroach from outside your property boundaries onto your land, it’s quite sneaky in how it does this – usually underground so it’s not visible until it’s too late.
“Right now knotweed still has some flowers and the above ground parts of the plant are quite distinctive, but wait until the winter and all you’ll see is a bunch of brown stems that could be overlooked as pretty much any winter shrub.”
How to identify Japanese knotweed in autumn
If you want to check if the plant in your garden is in fact Japanese knotweed, there are a few things to look out for. First, the leaves – they will be shovel-shaped with a flat base and pointed tip, and bright green in colour, growing alternately along the stem.
The stems themselves will be hollow and look a little like bamboo, growing up to three metres in height.
They have purple flecks and grow in a zigzag pattern, turning brown and brittle in autumn and winter.
The plant should have stopped flowering by now, so you shouldn’t see any of the white blooms amongst the leaves. But the roots are very distinctive – there will bea thick network growing underground, and if they are snapped, the inside will be bright orange.
Then, when the weather starts to turn, the plant will die back, leaving behind the brown hollow canes which will often still remain standing.
If you do have an infestation, it’s recommended that you seek the help of professionals, who will be able to help you eradicate it safely.
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