Japanese Knotweed
Discussion
The real problem is when the knotweed crosses various boundaries and you all end up with one of those t
ts who refuses to partake in its removal because he wants everyone else to pay for it. And then invariably there will be a second tt who doesn’t want to pay the extra £10 it would cost everyone to pay for the first tt.
There is a cure for knotweed but no credible cure for the ‘tt next door’.
ts who refuses to partake in its removal because he wants everyone else to pay for it. And then invariably there will be a second tt who doesn’t want to pay the extra £10 it would cost everyone to pay for the first tt. There is a cure for knotweed but no credible cure for the ‘t
t next door’. I started a thread about Japanese Knotweed in the neighbours garden that abutts the end of my outhouse and how to approach it with them.
Luckily they were very good and after one years treatment there has been no signs of regrowth so far this year. I think the threat of officially reporting it spurred them on to do something about it sharpish.
Luckily they were very good and after one years treatment there has been no signs of regrowth so far this year. I think the threat of officially reporting it spurred them on to do something about it sharpish.
Also sceptical regarding the claims.
This article by the researchers I found suggests that there may be some self-interest involved: https://theconversation.com/weve-found-the-best-wa... with references to their patent pending approach which I am sure they will be looking to monetise.
This article by the researchers I found suggests that there may be some self-interest involved: https://theconversation.com/weve-found-the-best-wa... with references to their patent pending approach which I am sure they will be looking to monetise.
the researchers said:
Daniel Jones is Managing Director of Advanced Invasives that delivers a range of consultancy services, including how best to manage Japanese knotweed. Advanced Invasives also perform in-field testing for a range of commercial organisations. Between 2011 and 2014, Daniel Jones's work was part-funded by the European Social Fund through the European Union’s Convergence programme administered by the Welsh Government with Swansea University and Complete Weed Control Limited.
Dan Eastwood receives funding from the European Social Fund
Doesn't say who has funded their work between 2014 and now.Dan Eastwood receives funding from the European Social Fund
me too, furtive nighttime comado operations into enemy territory armed with a pair of shears and a bottle of petrol 
Update....
So we decided not to increase our offer above £332k due to a couple of other reasons (main one being the beneficiary’s withholding information) and the property is still on the market and was reduced to £375k around 2 months ago.
Planning to go back in again at the end of the month but this time at £320k given the current market conditions.
As for the Knotweed, not going to let that get in the way when it can be sorted eventually.
So we decided not to increase our offer above £332k due to a couple of other reasons (main one being the beneficiary’s withholding information) and the property is still on the market and was reduced to £375k around 2 months ago.
Planning to go back in again at the end of the month but this time at £320k given the current market conditions.
As for the Knotweed, not going to let that get in the way when it can be sorted eventually.
So easy there are lots and lots of websites saying "don't confuse knotweed with this long list of similar plants". :P
I only briefly googled it as I passed it on the way to the shop (I don't usually go that way so only just saw it).
There are no flowers on it (yet?) as there apparently should be at this time of year but maybe they'll show in a week or two, but all the other signs are there; shovel-shaped leafs with pointy ends, purple-specked stems, zig-zag stalk dispersal etc etc. Stems are kind of hollow.
All in all I'm probably 80-90% sure it's knotweed on the brief 2mins I spent googling it whilst staring at it.
I only briefly googled it as I passed it on the way to the shop (I don't usually go that way so only just saw it).
There are no flowers on it (yet?) as there apparently should be at this time of year but maybe they'll show in a week or two, but all the other signs are there; shovel-shaped leafs with pointy ends, purple-specked stems, zig-zag stalk dispersal etc etc. Stems are kind of hollow.
All in all I'm probably 80-90% sure it's knotweed on the brief 2mins I spent googling it whilst staring at it.
When we bought our house the home report flagged a 'cane plant' in the back garden as potential knotweed. Luckily it was bamboo, and quite clearly so! The bamboo has been a total pain to remove, and it isn't all gone yet, but knotweed is on another level.
Remembering from my college days, Japanese Knotweed is sort of the final boss of invasive plant species. A thumbnail-sized section from any part of the plant will create more growth. From memory the best solution is to chop it down and burn on site. You can bury a screening mat into the soil to prevent it coming back up, having destroyed as much of the roots as possible.
Moving any contaminated soil or cuttings required a big trail of paperwork, hence the desire to burn in situ and add a physical barrier to stop the inevitable regrowth from any scraps my left behind.
And all of that is well and good, but it could be seeding from a source upstream, or an adjacent garden, etc. Its an issue along rivers where two local authorities 'share' the water course, and only the downstream party wants to deal with it. Ditto giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam etc.
Remembering from my college days, Japanese Knotweed is sort of the final boss of invasive plant species. A thumbnail-sized section from any part of the plant will create more growth. From memory the best solution is to chop it down and burn on site. You can bury a screening mat into the soil to prevent it coming back up, having destroyed as much of the roots as possible.
Moving any contaminated soil or cuttings required a big trail of paperwork, hence the desire to burn in situ and add a physical barrier to stop the inevitable regrowth from any scraps my left behind.
And all of that is well and good, but it could be seeding from a source upstream, or an adjacent garden, etc. Its an issue along rivers where two local authorities 'share' the water course, and only the downstream party wants to deal with it. Ditto giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam etc.
Not sure if it differs in England but we looked at a house in Scotland with Knotweed in the garden - one large clump about 4m from the house.
What makes knotweed hellish is it can perpetrate pretty much anything such as concrete tarmac etc it just looks for weaknesses.
To kill it properly a suitable killer should be injected into the root structure or Rhizome base other wise it just keeps coming back. It can propagate from a 1 inch cutting so it is very important that any machinery / vehicle is thoroughly cleaned before leaving the site. After killing fire is a good option!!
In Scotland its not uncommon to see in old mansions and stately homes as a century plus ago it was planted in Oriental style gardens with Bamboo!
In our instance when we needed a mortgage we did the mortgage etc as normal however the bank wanted to hold a retainer amount for the work to remove the knotwood and insurance to themselves for any issues. The amount was calculated based on 3 removal and reinstatement quotes. It was a bit of a nightmare so you needed -
the deposit / ltv percentage of the mortgage say £50k plus the retainer a further £15k PLUS the money to actually do the work £15k.
It didn't put us off and its now an amazing house, however we decided to buy in another town.
My advice is don't let it put you off however it will put plenty of other people off so keep that in mind making an offer and go real low ball, all they can do is counter!!
Final word of warning on this is a local commercial establishment near us recently had to increase parking and brought in a lot of "material" looked like type one + soil to build up a banking and level, this 2 years on is one of the finest crops of knotweed I've ever seen spanning 30 meters square some 3 metres high! So watch where you get soil from!
What makes knotweed hellish is it can perpetrate pretty much anything such as concrete tarmac etc it just looks for weaknesses.
To kill it properly a suitable killer should be injected into the root structure or Rhizome base other wise it just keeps coming back. It can propagate from a 1 inch cutting so it is very important that any machinery / vehicle is thoroughly cleaned before leaving the site. After killing fire is a good option!!
In Scotland its not uncommon to see in old mansions and stately homes as a century plus ago it was planted in Oriental style gardens with Bamboo!
In our instance when we needed a mortgage we did the mortgage etc as normal however the bank wanted to hold a retainer amount for the work to remove the knotwood and insurance to themselves for any issues. The amount was calculated based on 3 removal and reinstatement quotes. It was a bit of a nightmare so you needed -
the deposit / ltv percentage of the mortgage say £50k plus the retainer a further £15k PLUS the money to actually do the work £15k.
It didn't put us off and its now an amazing house, however we decided to buy in another town.
My advice is don't let it put you off however it will put plenty of other people off so keep that in mind making an offer and go real low ball, all they can do is counter!!
Final word of warning on this is a local commercial establishment near us recently had to increase parking and brought in a lot of "material" looked like type one + soil to build up a banking and level, this 2 years on is one of the finest crops of knotweed I've ever seen spanning 30 meters square some 3 metres high! So watch where you get soil from!
Edited by strath44 on Thursday 10th September 10:58
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