Japanese knotweed. I wish you the very best of luck
oblivious_fireball
You have Japanese Knotweed. Its a plant from hell, the only thing worse is Tree of Heaven. If the seller didn’t mention this to you when you bought the property you have been functionally scammed to some extent. Idk the situation in Canada but in the UK the stuff is so bad there are restrictions on selling or purchasing mortgages if its on the property and you can get in trouble if you don’t declare its presence when selling.
It grows quick and completely smothers everything in sight as it grows into a gigantic bush or small tree. Its roots can damage the foundations of homes. You cannot kill it without the use of herbicides over years of effort, you cannot dig it out. Any piece of stem, any piece of healthy root that is left in the ground will grow into a new plant. Attempting to chop repeatedly encourages more root growth. Silver lining, its not poisonous and the shoots are apparently edible and taste similar to rhubarb.
I’ve heard of several different methods of control. If its only a small isolated patch, extremely vigilant and aggressive cutting and applying herbicide to the stumps may be able to exhaust the plant over time. Don’t let any shoots fully develop the leaves. Any cut stems or roots should be left to bake on the pavement for a week before disposal, or outright burn it, or try eating the shoots. For big patches, i’ve often heard people recommend to avoid cutting it to much so it doesn’t focus on root growth and spreading, and then hit the foliage hard and inject the stems with herbicides right before its preparing for winter.
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Japanese knotweed. I wish you the very best of luck
You have Japanese Knotweed. Its a plant from hell, the only thing worse is Tree of Heaven. If the seller didn’t mention this to you when you bought the property you have been functionally scammed to some extent. Idk the situation in Canada but in the UK the stuff is so bad there are restrictions on selling or purchasing mortgages if its on the property and you can get in trouble if you don’t declare its presence when selling.
It grows quick and completely smothers everything in sight as it grows into a gigantic bush or small tree. Its roots can damage the foundations of homes. You cannot kill it without the use of herbicides over years of effort, you cannot dig it out. Any piece of stem, any piece of healthy root that is left in the ground will grow into a new plant. Attempting to chop repeatedly encourages more root growth. Silver lining, its not poisonous and the shoots are apparently edible and taste similar to rhubarb.
I’ve heard of several different methods of control. If its only a small isolated patch, extremely vigilant and aggressive cutting and applying herbicide to the stumps may be able to exhaust the plant over time. Don’t let any shoots fully develop the leaves. Any cut stems or roots should be left to bake on the pavement for a week before disposal, or outright burn it, or try eating the shoots. For big patches, i’ve often heard people recommend to avoid cutting it to much so it doesn’t focus on root growth and spreading, and then hit the foliage hard and inject the stems with herbicides right before its preparing for winter.
Oh dear. This ain’t looking good. Sorry bud
I’m thinking bamboo is worse than knotweed.
https://preview.redd.it/b0qzmh6qbxwc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0ee0e2afda3bc392e670b6df266f6e60b6da2ce