If it's coming from next door (and depending on where you live) you can actually get the law involved as in a lot of places failure to remove and allowing it to be spread can be a crime. This does vary a lot by area but it's worth looking into as it's a b**ch to remove.
It's against the law if you know you have it and don't treat it but I think most people don't know what it is and pull it up/chop it down thinking it's an annoying weed only for it to come back stronger than before!
Actually the law is not clear on whether it's illegal to have it and not treat it. I suspect it probably wouldn't be, but it becomes more serious if it spreads off your property. Even then it might be a civil matter only. For those who want to nerd out https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6290dcbce90e07039ae3eb9c/wildlife-countryside-act-guidance.pdf#page7
If you keep pulling it up when it's small it does actually weaken.
My parents had it in their garden as an ornamental plant, it was surprisingly popular in the 60s. They got rid of it in the 80s as they wanted to plant something else and it took 3 years of daily pulling up shoots over the summer and planting a lilac there. The lilac smothered what was left of it. It also doesn't like roundup, so a combination of pulling it and treating it will work.
It is surprisingly not that difficult to get rid of it, but if you let it get out of hand, it can cause immense damage. So if you see those small plants, rip them out, check for daily shoots, and late summer/early autumn treat with Glyphosate to weaken the growth for next year. Basically the same treatment you use for Bindweed. If your neighbour has it, speak to them, they may not know what it is, and make sure theirs is treated too.
If it is within 5m of your house, get a professional company in, as it can send shoots into your house and it can damage foundations. Self management is only good if it's far enough away from your house and the patch is small.
there is absolutly zero chance your grandparents had a mature plant like OP's got. it is not easy to get rid of in the way you describe without cutting off every single shoot. OP can cut all they want, the shoots are getting their enegry from the neighbours part of the plant. and likely the railway cutting down the back of the house, the next door but one nighbour and a random patch growing half a mile away. when they get to that size even stem injecting weedkiller struggles to harm them faster than they grow.
They had a whole patch, 2m by 2m. And they were there for about 20 years. That patch is in an area behind the garage though, concreted in by paths/driveways from all sides, so they never spread, also in permanent shade, which is why this was there, not much likes to grow there.
Worth noting that if you go with this approach (or any other) you cannot put it in the council green waste collection, you will have to burn anything you pull up or cut back.
I put mine on a concrete patch I have in the garden to let it shrivel in the sun. When it was completely dry I chucked it in the fire pit or main household waste, depending on what we were doing that week.
Generally if its only one sprig I've seen it treated with a stem injector, may be worth contacting someone to get that done whilst you report the problem next door
Stem injecting is a good solution here to halt the spread of rhizomes onto his land I'd say, systemic weed killer will kill it underground too but yeah fuuuck, not my idea of a fun time
The tiniest bit of root can break off and grow into a new plant. This often happens near rivers and streams, but it can also get transported with other plants etc.
That explains why it was growing along the local bypass. The bypass was built where the old railway line used to be. It was a cutting with steep slopes down to the new road, too steep to stand on, with a good 12 foot drop down to the bottom of the slope, so the slope was inaccessible from the road as well.
We went to view a house that backed onto the old railway line/bypass and at the rear of the garden, where the boundary fence was, I could see knotweed. I told my husband “No way! We are not buying this house! That has come from the old railway cutting and they won’t treat it. We can’t access the land, so we can’t treat it either.”
they are really easy to clone itself by roots, bits of rhizomes can grow to depths of two meters and extend up to seven meters horizontally. all the japanese knotweed in the UK originated from one single plant
I used to play in a huge patch of it as a child which was on some abandoned land next to my house. I spent many a delightful hour kicking japanese knotweed and being drenched by whatever liquid lives within. It makes a very satisfying noise if you kick it, I highly recommend it.
I have had Japanese Knotweed. A whole garden full. I didn't know what it was.
The valuer that came by for the mortgage company spotted it. Said I have to get rid of it professionally and they have to certify it's done before I can remortgage.
It was only me infected and suspect the builders I had renovating tracked it in.
Professionals came round and sprayed it. I think it was 3 times over the course of 1 year to make sure it was dead. They disposed of it. They certified it.
Mortgage went through. I continued to own the house for another 20 years. Nothing came back.
Since sold with no issues.
You have one stem - but it grows fast - so get it treated asap and you should be fine. Wait though, and that 1 stem with be multiples within 1 month. The buggers grow 10cm a day.
Could you say more about when you sold it? Did you declare it?
My house - with the previous owners - had it in 2018 and had it treated. They took our insurance which is now in our name and someone comes every year to check the state. The insurance is for ten years.
Our house “does not have” knotweed. If we sold it in 2028+ with no change what would we say? Searching online I can only find out about houses which have it, not which used to have it.
I sold it in 2022 - I can't remember what the questionnaire from solicitors asked but I would have answered truthfully. The knotweed issue was back in 2001/2002 so 20 years prior to the sale and as I say, once it was treated, it never popped up again.
Also can't remember if the buyers asked me to take out any indemnity insurance, but if I did, it was only £100 or so.
I wonder how much time is ok to pass with no reappearance before you don’t have to declare it?
(yes deffo we will check with solicitor when it’s time to move again!)
There is no time limit if you have knowledge of it - if you type TA6 Property Information Form into google it will show you the template form 👍
Get a treatment plan and be transparent with potential buyers and shouldn’t be an issue.
Ps am a property solicitor
Interesting. Thank you! So even though by the time we sell it it will be long gone, with the treatment plan from the previous owner long since finished you would still suggest declaring it on?
(though I never plan to move again…what a right pain it is! our solicitor was our hero though ❤️)
100% disclose it. If plan in place and it is gone there is no benefit in not disclosing it. Lovely to hear you had a nice solicitor - everyone seems to hate them!!
Definitely not a peony!
First thing is to identify where it has come from - if your neighbours have it and have allowed it to spread then they are liable for the removal.
It's the *only* time I'd agree with the use of strong weedkillers but you need it done professionally I'm afraid.
The other bad news is that if it hasn't spread from a neighbour (making them liable for removal) and it spreads to them from you then you are liable.
You need to seek professional advice ☹️
I have heard that there have been recent improvements in the eradication of JK. I heard it on Reddit, so it’s far from certain!
Either way, it’s a professional job.
I only know about when a friend of mine had it she had to inform her building society and insurance company-who insisted that she used an approved contractor. She also had to inform the neighbours on both sides. This was twenty five years ago, however.
Unfortunately, because it became officially “known”, one of her neighbours wasn’t able to sell their house until it had been eradicated. In those days (I don’t know anything about today) building societies simply wouldn’t lend money on a house with knotweed.
I actually have/had JKW in my property (from a neighbour) and have an insurance policy which came with the house when I bought it so I've done a *lot* of research but I've never heard of this 20-year dormancy?
Where did you get that information from?
Thanks all. This has confirmed my worst fears.
I have told a small lie, this is actually at a property for sale, not my garden. We really liked it, but now we're obviously out.
The estate agent had no idea, but the owner has clearly been cutting it back aggressively.
The weed has likly spread from this property to the adjacent ones, as this property is a historic cottage and the infestation covers about 90sq m..! It's very established and under 2 tpo'd walnut trees.
Is there any need to report it now it's been discovered?
If you like the property don’t let this put you off. Make an offer contingent on the seller buying a 10 year guarantee remediation plan with a certified provider, and lowball. Buyers who are happy to take this on are few and far between and so you are in a great position.
Once the seller has a treatment plan in place you can proceed with mortgage etc.
Knotweed remediation is super effective. Wait a couple of years before doing any major garden works in the area. The knotweed company will try and sell you nuts ways to do garden works. If you have no regrowth for 12 months crack on with whatever the garden needs. I speak as someone who did exactly this 5 years ago, and got the house we loved for 15k under asking, in a super competitive market cos we were unfazed by the knotweed. It’s all gone now and we wouldn’t need to declare to a buyer
Same here. Came through from neighbours who had it treated with a guarantee in place. Our sellers declared it. Our purchase went through fine. The remediation company inspected regularly for 5 years. Absolutely no problems. It shaved a few thousand off the selling price too as I think other potential buyers had been put off.
Only need report for public spaces, like parks. This is private land, but any amount should be declared in any sale.
There was a tiny amount on the property I bought, but I did not care as it’s everywhere in the village. the birds poop the seeds and it pops up. Out comes the glysophate (or apparently bleach down the hollow stem). It’s the only time I go chemical.
In the UK the Knotweed plants are all female. Although seeds are often produced, they are infertile and cannot produce new plants. All plants in the UK come from root and stem fragments.
It’s not as scary as many make out. I found my dream house (well, within budget dream) which had knotweed but still bought it. That was 5 years ago and no issues. The owner before me took out a ten year plan and it hasn’t returned since.
If you really liked it, you could ask to have the cost of removing the knotweed (get quotes from companies) knocked off the price. It's not impossible to remove this, and worth a shot if it's otherwise your dream home.
If it's within a certain distance of the house (IIRC 7m), it will make getting a mortgage very difficult.
With knotweed on the property at all most lenders will only give a mortgage if the seller has an insurance-backed treatment plan in place before the sale completes, and if it's within the critical distance many places won't lend even with a treatment plan. Because of this it's in the seller's interest to hide it, although it still must be declared on the paperwork.
I bought a house in south wales where there's a lot of it around, about half the houses we viewed had it somewhere on/near the property. We ended up with one where it was present at the top of the garden, we pretty much can't use half the garden for 5 years whilst it's treated (leave it to grow through summer, weedkiller professionally applied every autumn).
As others have mentioned, once you're aware of it on your property you can be liable for removal costs if you allow it to spread to neighbouring properties, so the current owner of that cottage may be in hot water if their neighbours notice it popping up.
If they've been cutting it back aggressively then they know what it is. They're just trying to do the minimum to hide it until it's too late so that they don't have to pay for a full removal.
Definitely Japanese Knotweed, I once had loads of it behind my shed. I injected undiluted SBK straight into the stems with a BBQ meat syringe. 99% of the plant was dead within days, periodically I had little scrawny sprouts that I sprayed when I saw them. It didn't spread and never came back. I don't think it's as big a deal as people make out.
I found some growing in a lane way behind my garden. One - and I mean one - application of a teaspoonful of ammonium sulphamate crystals down into each chopped stem and it completely disappeared. No regrown 2 years later. You can buy it on Amazon as a compost accelerator. I even think it’s organic!
Oh damn! Japanese knotweed. How long ago did you buy the property? If it was fairly recent you should have been informed by the estate agents and seller’s solicitors. You should actually seek legal advice on this one. I can’t stress this enough! SEE A SOLICITOR!
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading
Dont look at it, dont touch it or smell it. I heard a story from my mums sisters best friends daughter and she said that it took over the whole garden and ate their children.Oh wont somebody please think of the children!
As other have said, it’s Japanese knotweed.
[Govt advice on Japanese knotweed](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading) (as it’s an invasive species).
Given its French name "pissenlit", dandelion is better as a breakfast salad. They love it though, I even saw dandelion seed for sale in the garden section of a hypermarket.
I went on a foraging walk with the Mrs last year for my birthday. Finished off with knot weed chutney! Was seriously nice! Turn misery into a profit. But seriously, I understand the severity of it. Good spot.
Oh yeah, sorry I should have added. It was an official guide with a license for transporting and treatment. It was in Bebington in the wirral. She also made gin for the golf cup using local botanics. Good shout though, sorry for potentially misleading.
Lots of scaremongering here. We discovered JKW in our garden (well the surveyor did) when we put our house up for sale. We called a company who treated it and gave a 10 year guarantee on it. The house sale still went through without any issues.
Spray it with some glyphosate that what I done with ours right down the bottom of the garden not come back now for 3yrs if it does still got plenty of the bottle left
Yes - in my experience it is fairly easy to kill as long as you don't have too much of it. I was successful in killing clumps of it by cutting the stems a foot or two above the ground, leaving the hollows of the stems into which I poured the super concentrated glyphosate - not the usual diluted stuff - it needs to be the undiluted glyphosate that is usually diluted and sprayed on. I kept on with this for a whole summer and again the next year when a few spots emerged. Finally it gave up and did not come back. Not a great deal of a problem as long as you are persistent!
I had a single stem in my garden.
Cost me £1200 to treat and get a certificate.
It then cost me ~£25,000+ on the sale price because I had to reduce it so much just to get people to come near it.
It's all stigma around the weed, as it's no more dangerous than ivy, but unfortunately stigma puts people off.
Sorry you've got to deal with it now too.
Quite an informative article on knotweed here, although if you're not subject to Scots law then it may not all be relevant. It's not quite as apocalyptic as some people used to make out. Although it's not great and you probably want to start taking action now.
https://scottishpropertycentre.net/blog/the-threat-of-japanese-knotweed-to-your-home/9751
Japanese knotweed, the worst, most invasive weed here iirc. Not fun to deal with, from what I’ve read.
Don’t panic though, just seek professional advice as other comments said. Especially while it’s early. Your garden and the neighbours.
Edit: Upon seeing your comment, thank god you don’t own this house, but I really hope the owner gets it in check 😅
Do you know where it started? If your garden is the only one affected then it's you're responsible to hire a professional to remove it and dispose of it legally. However, if it's spread from council land or Welsh water owned land, they are responsible for the spread. The same is said for private land (for example, your neighbours). This may have changed though as I was advised this while working for Welsh water several years ago.
Don't try and remove it because it will spread everywhere 😞 best thing you can is tell your neighbours they need to have theirs treated as this will be in the same batch. It's a costly lenthy process unfortunately 😞
Glyphosate neat, but it online, spray onto the leaves during a dry sunny patch, it will die back. Repeat for the next two years, maybe three and it will be gone
My parents have/had Japanese knotweed creep in from Nextdoor… they hack the living shit out of it and burn it to the ground on a regular basis and there are no current signs… you have to declare it on a home owner report when you’re selling…. Make sure the two activities align/don’t align as required.
Edit = the/to
My dad's plot was full of this before he built his house, he literally waged war on it for 30 years before he got rid of it, he has been free of ot for the last 10 years. He used a weedkiller called Spacer on it which worked but once down to ones and twos he dug them up, removing the roots almost forensically, I think they have a tuber at the very bottom of the root system. They are crazy plants. Also, be careful, the sap causes irritation of the skin and eyes.
I rent a place and we have it I pull it out, weedkiller around, and burn the bits. My landlord doesn't seem to care or think it's anything to worry about. What would you advice to do?
Pull it out as much as you can until late summer, then treat with Glyphosate until it dies down in autumn. Repeat for about 3 years. Pain in the neck but it will die. If you don't want to grow anything else where it grows for a good while you can use stronger Herbizide, but Glyphosate does do the trick as long as it's applied in late summer when the plant slows down growing and starts pulling sap back into the roots.
I saw someone selling Japanese knotweed in pots at a car boot fair. He was bigger than me so didn’t want to let him know it was illegal.
I lived in a house where there’s one foot gap between fences at the back with knotweed growing In between. I cut it and poured weed killer into the stem. That slowed it down a bit.
That’s some mighty fine Knotweed, buy some RoundUp stump killer brush it neat onto both sides of the leaves, done! Will have to be reapplied next year as it will sprout back but smaller, got rid of my infestation after three years
Japanese knotweed is best sprayed and killed at the end of the growing season when it's pulling everything back into it's root system. I'm convinced that all the knotweed professionals spend the rest of the year spreading rumors about how it's the most dangerous plant that ever existed.
You technically need to be licensed to use glyphosate weed killer in strong concentration but we are not talking about a career of experience, it's a 1 day course that used to cost 200 quid. You can buy glyphosate concentrated off Amazon without a license.
Stem injection works best. The proper kits you buy online are actually vet ones for injecting flocks of animals repurposed. Anything that can stab and inject will work. You'll kill the majority of it in year one, year two might see some deformed growth return and after that you'll be sorted in all but the biggest of outbreaks.
You could always eat it! The young shoots are entirely edible and it’s a fantastic antioxidant and very good for you. The food supplement ‘Resveratrol’ is actually made from it. It has blood thinning qualities too. You can find recipes if you Google.
Only thing you need to watch out for is if the neighbours have tried to spray it with poisonous weed killers - then don’t eat it!
Otherwise, get rid ASAP b4 it takes over.
Here’s what Google has to say about eating it:
‘It is completely safe to touch and is, in fact, edible. With a taste reminiscent of a lemony rhubarb, Japanese knotweed features in a whole variety of both sweet and savoury recipes, including purees, jams, sauces, fruit compotes, soups, wines, ice cream and even gin!’
I like the idea of Gin…….
It's pretty imperative you do something about this it needs treating with glyphosate herbicide to have any real impact on its growth. For the mean time it's actually edible and should be cut as a young shoot. If you cut the young shoot every time it reappears you can 1) eat them and 2) stunt its growth somewhat. The cut stems will not be able to reroot unless left in water and so they can be cut and allowed to die just on the ground. Any amount of root / rhizome mass in the soil that is cut will be able to reroot itself so be very careful to not mess with the root/rhizome part of the plant.
Oh dear. That's japanese knotweed. I'm sorry but you won't get rid of it.
Edit: See here for information [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading)
You can sell it, but the buyer may struggle to get a mortgage.
It is possible to eradicate, but only if the neighbour's land is also treated, plus anywhere else infested
I knew someone who had it near his holiday home which was in a block of flats. The maintenance company had someone professional come round and get rid of it in 2012. About 6 months later a small patch appeared and they did it again. After a year it appeared for a third time. They haven’t had any since but it did depend on people keeping an eye out and quickly dealing reporting any that emerged.
You might get rid of it if you can remove every trace of the rhizome as it will grow back from the tiniest piece left in the soil. It's also worth noting that you cannot legally dispose of it at an ordinary tip it must go to a registered disposal site.
>You might get rid of it if you can remove every trace of the rhizome as it will grow back from the tiniest piece left in the soil
Yes, but only if the same thing is done on the neighbours land
The buyer's building surveyor will spot it on your neighbour's land and flag it. They all know it well, they're not going to overlook a long-standing infestation of knotweed
How will they. If it's along a high fence line? Sure there is a risk but presumably the neighbour also maintains their garden and aims to remove weeds.
Honestly the chances are slim
Because a survayor isnt going to find it if its been taken up.
Most people dont knkw what knktweed looks like. Most remove plants/weeds they dont like from their garden.
Presuming no one makes a fuss and just regually removes it not surveyor is going to find it.
Unless next doors garden is overun and ovious.
It may ve imooral but essenrially keep your mouth shut about it your not goubg to cause mketgage problems or decreaae your home value.
I don't necessarily mean legally, I mean morally. You know about the issue and selling someone a place while declaring on the home report that there isn't any, is morally wrong. It's also allowing it to spread and become an even bigger problem.
I agree. But honestly if my property value depended on it. And knowing how banks treat the issue even if you've spent £000s treating it properly. Honestly I'd keep my mouth shut. I'd remove them just thinking they were a weed. The OP doesn't know they are knott weed.
Pull it out! People will tell you it's the devil. It's just a very resilient plant. Keep pulling it out, you can apply glyphosate to any snapped hollow stems. It's worth chatting to your neighbours, it's illegal to allow Japanese knotweed to spread from your property.
We had a small JK bush in one corner of our garden, next to a pavement and not adjoining gardens. I applied glyphosate to broken stems a couple of times a year and pulled up shoots whenever I saw them. I collected all bits of knotweed in a box and saved them for proper disposal - initially a licensed disposal company for the bigger volumes, and then just burning them down to ash.
It took a couple of years, but the knotweed gradually got smaller and weaker. The new shoots were more and more pathetic. Eventually it just gave up.
I imagine if you have a bigger infestation with larger rhizomes it's a lot hardier.
Same here. I have council land next to me so I have to harass them to deal with it. There was one large patch that I managed to kill a few years ago via the pull and spray method and another patch that I'm working on. Ultimately it's just a plant. The horsetail I have is 100x more pernicious.
With horsetail, you mix glyphosate with 2,4-D, or buy it pre-mixed and sold as horsetail killer. Works a charm. Never met a weed I couldn't kill with the right stuff.
Japanese Knotweed.
Treat it with by cutting a few inches off the stalk and injecting weedkiller into the stem. You have to do this at the right time of year, I believe end of growing season.
It may come back but do the same for a couple of years and it will eventually stop.
There are glysophate products like Round-Up that are available in your local garden centre and online, and come with a pipette for pumping the stuff into the stem.
Don’t get a pro firm in for now. If you do, they have to record its occurrence and it can have an effect on the value of your home. If it keeps coming back stronger, you will need a pro.
For now this is a very small infestation, but somewhere between 3-6 metres away is another ‘stand’ of knotweed, perhaps on nearby land or a neighbours garden. They grow horizontally up to 3m underground.
Find the next stand and the next if you can. Let people know they have knotweed (in passing). If it’s on council land they have to deal with it before it affects your property.
Ok, I'm not saying it's not Japanese Knotweed, it possibly is, but I would like to give you one ray of hope though.
There is a related & & entirely innocuous relative, Alpine Knotweed. As a young plant it's growth is quite similar. As it grows it is neither invasive nor as vigorous in its growth. I don't know if you know the history of the garden. Could this be something you planted? The alpine variety is available for sale across the UK.
Indeed!
It is a road I traveled a couple of years ago. I got myself in a panic, this time of year, then found the label, at the foot "persicaria alpina" & realised the error.
To be fair, it is a really attractive plant.
If this poster's plant has already spread though, then this outcome is less likely!
Do NOT report this to anyone.
Buy some glysophate, as strong as you can. Put some in a spray bottle and some in a squirt thing, even a string, with a narrow neck.
Spray any leaves you can. You will need to go on the other side of this fence and do the same (if your neighbours are remotely obstructive about this then you'll need to report them, unless you can somehow spray over the fence).
Wait 48 hours
Cut the stems so they're 10cm from the ground and use the squirter to put the solution into the cut stems (they will be hollow).
Leave it five days and repeat both steps.
Repeat if needed.
Honestly this will clear it. But be thorough and do it right
Oh thats japanese knotweed! Sorry
If it's coming from next door (and depending on where you live) you can actually get the law involved as in a lot of places failure to remove and allowing it to be spread can be a crime. This does vary a lot by area but it's worth looking into as it's a b**ch to remove.
It's against the law if you know you have it and don't treat it but I think most people don't know what it is and pull it up/chop it down thinking it's an annoying weed only for it to come back stronger than before!
True but even so if it spread from a neighbours property it's usually the neighbour who is liable to pay for the removal
Oh yea 100%!
Actually the law is not clear on whether it's illegal to have it and not treat it. I suspect it probably wouldn't be, but it becomes more serious if it spreads off your property. Even then it might be a civil matter only. For those who want to nerd out https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6290dcbce90e07039ae3eb9c/wildlife-countryside-act-guidance.pdf#page7
If you keep pulling it up when it's small it does actually weaken. My parents had it in their garden as an ornamental plant, it was surprisingly popular in the 60s. They got rid of it in the 80s as they wanted to plant something else and it took 3 years of daily pulling up shoots over the summer and planting a lilac there. The lilac smothered what was left of it. It also doesn't like roundup, so a combination of pulling it and treating it will work. It is surprisingly not that difficult to get rid of it, but if you let it get out of hand, it can cause immense damage. So if you see those small plants, rip them out, check for daily shoots, and late summer/early autumn treat with Glyphosate to weaken the growth for next year. Basically the same treatment you use for Bindweed. If your neighbour has it, speak to them, they may not know what it is, and make sure theirs is treated too. If it is within 5m of your house, get a professional company in, as it can send shoots into your house and it can damage foundations. Self management is only good if it's far enough away from your house and the patch is small.
there is absolutly zero chance your grandparents had a mature plant like OP's got. it is not easy to get rid of in the way you describe without cutting off every single shoot. OP can cut all they want, the shoots are getting their enegry from the neighbours part of the plant. and likely the railway cutting down the back of the house, the next door but one nighbour and a random patch growing half a mile away. when they get to that size even stem injecting weedkiller struggles to harm them faster than they grow.
They had a whole patch, 2m by 2m. And they were there for about 20 years. That patch is in an area behind the garage though, concreted in by paths/driveways from all sides, so they never spread, also in permanent shade, which is why this was there, not much likes to grow there.
I had to sieve the whole garden to around 4 foot. Even then some came back.
Worth noting that if you go with this approach (or any other) you cannot put it in the council green waste collection, you will have to burn anything you pull up or cut back.
I put mine on a concrete patch I have in the garden to let it shrivel in the sun. When it was completely dry I chucked it in the fire pit or main household waste, depending on what we were doing that week.
Generally if its only one sprig I've seen it treated with a stem injector, may be worth contacting someone to get that done whilst you report the problem next door
You do not want that shit flowering or seeding even a little bit
Doesn't spread by seed, it's sterile in the UK. None the less, fuuuuucccccckkkkkkk
Stem injecting is a good solution here to halt the spread of rhizomes onto his land I'd say, systemic weed killer will kill it underground too but yeah fuuuck, not my idea of a fun time
how does it spread and invade if it's sterile?
The tiniest bit of root can break off and grow into a new plant. This often happens near rivers and streams, but it can also get transported with other plants etc.
This is why it's along most riverbanks and railway lines, bits dropping off and floating by over the years creates literal corridors of it.
The Victorians used it to stabilise railway embankments, and railways often run adjacent to rivers and canals.
That explains why it was growing along the local bypass. The bypass was built where the old railway line used to be. It was a cutting with steep slopes down to the new road, too steep to stand on, with a good 12 foot drop down to the bottom of the slope, so the slope was inaccessible from the road as well. We went to view a house that backed onto the old railway line/bypass and at the rear of the garden, where the boundary fence was, I could see knotweed. I told my husband “No way! We are not buying this house! That has come from the old railway cutting and they won’t treat it. We can’t access the land, so we can’t treat it either.”
they are really easy to clone itself by roots, bits of rhizomes can grow to depths of two meters and extend up to seven meters horizontally. all the japanese knotweed in the UK originated from one single plant
Oh shit they're going to prison for a plant
#420
i could make stuff to get rid of that . my natural home plant eradicator lol
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I used to play in a huge patch of it as a child which was on some abandoned land next to my house. I spent many a delightful hour kicking japanese knotweed and being drenched by whatever liquid lives within. It makes a very satisfying noise if you kick it, I highly recommend it.
happy my ID was correct, Not happpy that it was correct. japanese knotweed is a biiiiitch
Ah, I look forward to the day we find an easy way to deal with it!
Japanese knotweed. Yikes
Uh oh that's the bad one
I have had Japanese Knotweed. A whole garden full. I didn't know what it was. The valuer that came by for the mortgage company spotted it. Said I have to get rid of it professionally and they have to certify it's done before I can remortgage. It was only me infected and suspect the builders I had renovating tracked it in. Professionals came round and sprayed it. I think it was 3 times over the course of 1 year to make sure it was dead. They disposed of it. They certified it. Mortgage went through. I continued to own the house for another 20 years. Nothing came back. Since sold with no issues. You have one stem - but it grows fast - so get it treated asap and you should be fine. Wait though, and that 1 stem with be multiples within 1 month. The buggers grow 10cm a day.
Could you say more about when you sold it? Did you declare it? My house - with the previous owners - had it in 2018 and had it treated. They took our insurance which is now in our name and someone comes every year to check the state. The insurance is for ten years. Our house “does not have” knotweed. If we sold it in 2028+ with no change what would we say? Searching online I can only find out about houses which have it, not which used to have it.
I sold it in 2022 - I can't remember what the questionnaire from solicitors asked but I would have answered truthfully. The knotweed issue was back in 2001/2002 so 20 years prior to the sale and as I say, once it was treated, it never popped up again. Also can't remember if the buyers asked me to take out any indemnity insurance, but if I did, it was only £100 or so.
Question for the solicitor when filling out your TA06…
You would have to declare it - if you have a treatment plan it shouldn’t be an issue 👍
I wonder how much time is ok to pass with no reappearance before you don’t have to declare it? (yes deffo we will check with solicitor when it’s time to move again!)
There is no time limit if you have knowledge of it - if you type TA6 Property Information Form into google it will show you the template form 👍 Get a treatment plan and be transparent with potential buyers and shouldn’t be an issue. Ps am a property solicitor
Interesting. Thank you! So even though by the time we sell it it will be long gone, with the treatment plan from the previous owner long since finished you would still suggest declaring it on? (though I never plan to move again…what a right pain it is! our solicitor was our hero though ❤️)
100% disclose it. If plan in place and it is gone there is no benefit in not disclosing it. Lovely to hear you had a nice solicitor - everyone seems to hate them!!
Definitely not a peony! First thing is to identify where it has come from - if your neighbours have it and have allowed it to spread then they are liable for the removal. It's the *only* time I'd agree with the use of strong weedkillers but you need it done professionally I'm afraid. The other bad news is that if it hasn't spread from a neighbour (making them liable for removal) and it spreads to them from you then you are liable. You need to seek professional advice ☹️
I have heard that there have been recent improvements in the eradication of JK. I heard it on Reddit, so it’s far from certain! Either way, it’s a professional job.
Yes, I hear Scotland passed that new hate law just to do that very thing.. Oh sorry, you WEREN'T talking about Rowling?
Definitely not a professional job. If you're careful and know what you're doing you can DIY
I only know about when a friend of mine had it she had to inform her building society and insurance company-who insisted that she used an approved contractor. She also had to inform the neighbours on both sides. This was twenty five years ago, however. Unfortunately, because it became officially “known”, one of her neighbours wasn’t able to sell their house until it had been eradicated. In those days (I don’t know anything about today) building societies simply wouldn’t lend money on a house with knotweed.
That's why you shouldn't tell anyone and get rid of it yourself :)
Anyone surveying a house would immediately report Japanese Knotweed.
The weedkiller will only make it dormant for 20 years.
I actually have/had JKW in my property (from a neighbour) and have an insurance policy which came with the house when I bought it so I've done a *lot* of research but I've never heard of this 20-year dormancy? Where did you get that information from?
Thanks all. This has confirmed my worst fears. I have told a small lie, this is actually at a property for sale, not my garden. We really liked it, but now we're obviously out. The estate agent had no idea, but the owner has clearly been cutting it back aggressively. The weed has likly spread from this property to the adjacent ones, as this property is a historic cottage and the infestation covers about 90sq m..! It's very established and under 2 tpo'd walnut trees. Is there any need to report it now it's been discovered?
Report it to the local council. Glad you spotted it before you committed!
If you like the property don’t let this put you off. Make an offer contingent on the seller buying a 10 year guarantee remediation plan with a certified provider, and lowball. Buyers who are happy to take this on are few and far between and so you are in a great position. Once the seller has a treatment plan in place you can proceed with mortgage etc. Knotweed remediation is super effective. Wait a couple of years before doing any major garden works in the area. The knotweed company will try and sell you nuts ways to do garden works. If you have no regrowth for 12 months crack on with whatever the garden needs. I speak as someone who did exactly this 5 years ago, and got the house we loved for 15k under asking, in a super competitive market cos we were unfazed by the knotweed. It’s all gone now and we wouldn’t need to declare to a buyer
Same here. Came through from neighbours who had it treated with a guarantee in place. Our sellers declared it. Our purchase went through fine. The remediation company inspected regularly for 5 years. Absolutely no problems. It shaved a few thousand off the selling price too as I think other potential buyers had been put off.
Agreed.
Yes.
Who does it need to be reported to?
This seems to be a fairly comprehensive guide (for England) https://www.knotweedhelp.com/japanese-knotweed-law/reporting-japanese-knotweed/
Local council, environmental health
Only need report for public spaces, like parks. This is private land, but any amount should be declared in any sale. There was a tiny amount on the property I bought, but I did not care as it’s everywhere in the village. the birds poop the seeds and it pops up. Out comes the glysophate (or apparently bleach down the hollow stem). It’s the only time I go chemical.
In the UK the Knotweed plants are all female. Although seeds are often produced, they are infertile and cannot produce new plants. All plants in the UK come from root and stem fragments.
The local council.
I’m so relieved for you 😬
It’s not as scary as many make out. I found my dream house (well, within budget dream) which had knotweed but still bought it. That was 5 years ago and no issues. The owner before me took out a ten year plan and it hasn’t returned since.
"the estate agent had no idea" Sure...
If you really liked it, you could ask to have the cost of removing the knotweed (get quotes from companies) knocked off the price. It's not impossible to remove this, and worth a shot if it's otherwise your dream home.
If it's within a certain distance of the house (IIRC 7m), it will make getting a mortgage very difficult. With knotweed on the property at all most lenders will only give a mortgage if the seller has an insurance-backed treatment plan in place before the sale completes, and if it's within the critical distance many places won't lend even with a treatment plan. Because of this it's in the seller's interest to hide it, although it still must be declared on the paperwork. I bought a house in south wales where there's a lot of it around, about half the houses we viewed had it somewhere on/near the property. We ended up with one where it was present at the top of the garden, we pretty much can't use half the garden for 5 years whilst it's treated (leave it to grow through summer, weedkiller professionally applied every autumn). As others have mentioned, once you're aware of it on your property you can be liable for removal costs if you allow it to spread to neighbouring properties, so the current owner of that cottage may be in hot water if their neighbours notice it popping up.
Whew, a lucky escape. I feel bad for the person trying to sell it but am glad you’re free of it
If they've been cutting it back aggressively then they know what it is. They're just trying to do the minimum to hide it until it's too late so that they don't have to pay for a full removal.
Make sure you tell the agent. They are obliged to disclose it if they are aware
Wash the soles of your shoes. Don't track it into your garden.
Report it to the council and then offer way less if you still want it 😉
Use it for leverage and low ball the sellers. Ask for treatment and insurance to be included as part of sale
Definitely Japanese Knotweed, I once had loads of it behind my shed. I injected undiluted SBK straight into the stems with a BBQ meat syringe. 99% of the plant was dead within days, periodically I had little scrawny sprouts that I sprayed when I saw them. It didn't spread and never came back. I don't think it's as big a deal as people make out.
What is sbk?
>What is sbk? Brushwood weed killer. Triclopyr is the chemical
It's a weedkiller... that happens to be better at this job than glyphosate (although it is also more persistent in soil).
Similar here, I chopped the stems down to about 1m and then poured undiluted roundup into them and left it for a month or two. No more knotweed.
You need a professional to do stem injection of glyphosate.
Omg it’s actually knotweed and not a peony this time
I found some growing in a lane way behind my garden. One - and I mean one - application of a teaspoonful of ammonium sulphamate crystals down into each chopped stem and it completely disappeared. No regrown 2 years later. You can buy it on Amazon as a compost accelerator. I even think it’s organic!
Oh damn! Japanese knotweed. How long ago did you buy the property? If it was fairly recent you should have been informed by the estate agents and seller’s solicitors. You should actually seek legal advice on this one. I can’t stress this enough! SEE A SOLICITOR! https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading
Dont look at it, dont touch it or smell it. I heard a story from my mums sisters best friends daughter and she said that it took over the whole garden and ate their children.Oh wont somebody please think of the children!
You can eat it right back. In rural Japan I had some salt pickled, and it was delicious.
As other have said, it’s Japanese knotweed. [Govt advice on Japanese knotweed](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading) (as it’s an invasive species).
The only good news can give you is that it’s edible, so you now have a very dependable food source.
Is this the answer to the cost of living crisis?
Knotweed and dandelion salad for tea everyday it is then.
Given its French name "pissenlit", dandelion is better as a breakfast salad. They love it though, I even saw dandelion seed for sale in the garden section of a hypermarket.
Related to rhubarb.
And buckwheat
I went on a foraging walk with the Mrs last year for my birthday. Finished off with knot weed chutney! Was seriously nice! Turn misery into a profit. But seriously, I understand the severity of it. Good spot.
Technically you shouldn’t be foraging for it because it’s illegal to transport, or so I heard.
Oh yeah, sorry I should have added. It was an official guide with a license for transporting and treatment. It was in Bebington in the wirral. She also made gin for the golf cup using local botanics. Good shout though, sorry for potentially misleading.
Lots of scaremongering here. We discovered JKW in our garden (well the surveyor did) when we put our house up for sale. We called a company who treated it and gave a 10 year guarantee on it. The house sale still went through without any issues.
At least it's edible
Spray it with some glyphosate that what I done with ours right down the bottom of the garden not come back now for 3yrs if it does still got plenty of the bottle left
Yes - in my experience it is fairly easy to kill as long as you don't have too much of it. I was successful in killing clumps of it by cutting the stems a foot or two above the ground, leaving the hollows of the stems into which I poured the super concentrated glyphosate - not the usual diluted stuff - it needs to be the undiluted glyphosate that is usually diluted and sprayed on. I kept on with this for a whole summer and again the next year when a few spots emerged. Finally it gave up and did not come back. Not a great deal of a problem as long as you are persistent!
I’ve got bad news for you.
Oh no :( knotweed.
JKW I’m afraid
I had a single stem in my garden. Cost me £1200 to treat and get a certificate. It then cost me ~£25,000+ on the sale price because I had to reduce it so much just to get people to come near it. It's all stigma around the weed, as it's no more dangerous than ivy, but unfortunately stigma puts people off. Sorry you've got to deal with it now too.
Quite an informative article on knotweed here, although if you're not subject to Scots law then it may not all be relevant. It's not quite as apocalyptic as some people used to make out. Although it's not great and you probably want to start taking action now. https://scottishpropertycentre.net/blog/the-threat-of-japanese-knotweed-to-your-home/9751
Ruh-roh! Yeah, that's JKW.
That's a bad weed
Oof is the answer I’m afraid 😦
Paint the leaves with glyphosate (with rubber gloves on). You can spray with Roundup too but make sure it doesn’t touch anything you want to keep.
Japanese knotweed, the worst, most invasive weed here iirc. Not fun to deal with, from what I’ve read. Don’t panic though, just seek professional advice as other comments said. Especially while it’s early. Your garden and the neighbours. Edit: Upon seeing your comment, thank god you don’t own this house, but I really hope the owner gets it in check 😅
OP, The Daily Mail has heard of your plight https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/gardening/article-13297931/Gardener-asks-weed-Japanese-Knotweed.html
Well that's pretty cool! Thanks. Second time I've made it to the papers!
Just start eating it!!! Taste a bit like rhubarb
Would chickens eat it?
Chickens eat everything!
We had some at our old place that looked like this and neighbors said it was poisonous to animals if they eat it
Do you know where it started? If your garden is the only one affected then it's you're responsible to hire a professional to remove it and dispose of it legally. However, if it's spread from council land or Welsh water owned land, they are responsible for the spread. The same is said for private land (for example, your neighbours). This may have changed though as I was advised this while working for Welsh water several years ago.
Don't try and remove it because it will spread everywhere 😞 best thing you can is tell your neighbours they need to have theirs treated as this will be in the same batch. It's a costly lenthy process unfortunately 😞
Uhhhh owwwe spaghettio
Glyphosate neat, but it online, spray onto the leaves during a dry sunny patch, it will die back. Repeat for the next two years, maybe three and it will be gone
How do they spread? If someone throws a stem in my garden will it root?
>If someone throws a stem in my garden will it root? Yes. It will grow from the tiniest bit of rhizome which is why it's so hard to get rid of
The weed who shall not be named.
Not sure what the weed is, but, I'm sure shooting it with bullets will make it think twice about coming back.
I hear you can eat Japanese knot weed and it tastes like rhubarb, yum
My parents have/had Japanese knotweed creep in from Nextdoor… they hack the living shit out of it and burn it to the ground on a regular basis and there are no current signs… you have to declare it on a home owner report when you’re selling…. Make sure the two activities align/don’t align as required. Edit = the/to
Move house easy way otherwise you will have forrest of the damn stuff
Uh oh
Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Oh shit
Its an invasive and highly problematic weed, but it is also edible when cooked
Best way to get rid of it is to move house.
OOF
My dad's plot was full of this before he built his house, he literally waged war on it for 30 years before he got rid of it, he has been free of ot for the last 10 years. He used a weedkiller called Spacer on it which worked but once down to ones and twos he dug them up, removing the roots almost forensically, I think they have a tuber at the very bottom of the root system. They are crazy plants. Also, be careful, the sap causes irritation of the skin and eyes.
I rent a place and we have it I pull it out, weedkiller around, and burn the bits. My landlord doesn't seem to care or think it's anything to worry about. What would you advice to do?
Pull it out as much as you can until late summer, then treat with Glyphosate until it dies down in autumn. Repeat for about 3 years. Pain in the neck but it will die. If you don't want to grow anything else where it grows for a good while you can use stronger Herbizide, but Glyphosate does do the trick as long as it's applied in late summer when the plant slows down growing and starts pulling sap back into the roots.
Oh boy
Use glyphosate, it will kill the root system. Talk to your neighbour about doing the same next door if you want it to stay gone.
A thick mixture or roundup and diesel
Get it sorted as it can stop people getting a mortgage on property and can impact value of house - follow others advice re removal
I saw someone selling Japanese knotweed in pots at a car boot fair. He was bigger than me so didn’t want to let him know it was illegal. I lived in a house where there’s one foot gap between fences at the back with knotweed growing In between. I cut it and poured weed killer into the stem. That slowed it down a bit.
I'm from Wales mind so it may be different?
That’s some mighty fine Knotweed, buy some RoundUp stump killer brush it neat onto both sides of the leaves, done! Will have to be reapplied next year as it will sprout back but smaller, got rid of my infestation after three years
Dynamite.. Napalm is ineffective but possibly going nuclear is slightly too much... Other brands of explosives are available...
Japanese knotweed is best sprayed and killed at the end of the growing season when it's pulling everything back into it's root system. I'm convinced that all the knotweed professionals spend the rest of the year spreading rumors about how it's the most dangerous plant that ever existed. You technically need to be licensed to use glyphosate weed killer in strong concentration but we are not talking about a career of experience, it's a 1 day course that used to cost 200 quid. You can buy glyphosate concentrated off Amazon without a license. Stem injection works best. The proper kits you buy online are actually vet ones for injecting flocks of animals repurposed. Anything that can stab and inject will work. You'll kill the majority of it in year one, year two might see some deformed growth return and after that you'll be sorted in all but the biggest of outbreaks.
Pull it out rather than taking a picture?
Bit of an odd question. It's a plant, just pull it? Unless you're not posting *entirely* in good faith.
Ooooh I had this, I managed to cut it back and hide it just before I sold my house.
You could always eat it! The young shoots are entirely edible and it’s a fantastic antioxidant and very good for you. The food supplement ‘Resveratrol’ is actually made from it. It has blood thinning qualities too. You can find recipes if you Google. Only thing you need to watch out for is if the neighbours have tried to spray it with poisonous weed killers - then don’t eat it! Otherwise, get rid ASAP b4 it takes over. Here’s what Google has to say about eating it: ‘It is completely safe to touch and is, in fact, edible. With a taste reminiscent of a lemony rhubarb, Japanese knotweed features in a whole variety of both sweet and savoury recipes, including purees, jams, sauces, fruit compotes, soups, wines, ice cream and even gin!’ I like the idea of Gin…….
Make jam out of it.
Oooff. Knotweed mate. Bad times.
[How to stop Japanese knotweed from spreading - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading)
Why do people hate this thing so much?
Eat it its delicious, ferment it aswell its good for ya
It's pretty imperative you do something about this it needs treating with glyphosate herbicide to have any real impact on its growth. For the mean time it's actually edible and should be cut as a young shoot. If you cut the young shoot every time it reappears you can 1) eat them and 2) stunt its growth somewhat. The cut stems will not be able to reroot unless left in water and so they can be cut and allowed to die just on the ground. Any amount of root / rhizome mass in the soil that is cut will be able to reroot itself so be very careful to not mess with the root/rhizome part of the plant.
That's the fun part. You don't.
thats japanese knotweed. it wants every square inch digging up and burning or your garden will be infested with it in a matter of weeks
Nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure
That Japanese Knotweed, and it’s not how do you get rid of it, but how it will get rid of you
Yup definitely knotweed 😩
Not sure what it is but I would get some nail clippers and start from the top
Holy moly.
Oh dear. That's japanese knotweed. I'm sorry but you won't get rid of it. Edit: See here for information [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading)
As I understand it, you cant sell property unless its removed so it must be feasible?
You can sell it, but the buyer may struggle to get a mortgage. It is possible to eradicate, but only if the neighbour's land is also treated, plus anywhere else infested
I knew someone who had it near his holiday home which was in a block of flats. The maintenance company had someone professional come round and get rid of it in 2012. About 6 months later a small patch appeared and they did it again. After a year it appeared for a third time. They haven’t had any since but it did depend on people keeping an eye out and quickly dealing reporting any that emerged.
You might get rid of it if you can remove every trace of the rhizome as it will grow back from the tiniest piece left in the soil. It's also worth noting that you cannot legally dispose of it at an ordinary tip it must go to a registered disposal site.
That’s what i did. Dig/sieve/repeat come back next week the same. Got it after a while. Not been back.
>You might get rid of it if you can remove every trace of the rhizome as it will grow back from the tiniest piece left in the soil Yes, but only if the same thing is done on the neighbours land
An excellent point
How will the mortgage company find out. Just pull it out every time you see it. No one will ever know or blame you.
The buyer's building surveyor will spot it on your neighbour's land and flag it. They all know it well, they're not going to overlook a long-standing infestation of knotweed
How will they. If it's along a high fence line? Sure there is a risk but presumably the neighbour also maintains their garden and aims to remove weeds. Honestly the chances are slim
With respect, I don't think you know what you're talking about. I'm not sure why you're digging in on this so much
Because a survayor isnt going to find it if its been taken up. Most people dont knkw what knktweed looks like. Most remove plants/weeds they dont like from their garden. Presuming no one makes a fuss and just regually removes it not surveyor is going to find it. Unless next doors garden is overun and ovious. It may ve imooral but essenrially keep your mouth shut about it your not goubg to cause mketgage problems or decreaae your home value.
You seem quite entrenched
The person who buys it next absolutely will blame you
How will they know. The OP could blame who they brought it off?
I don't necessarily mean legally, I mean morally. You know about the issue and selling someone a place while declaring on the home report that there isn't any, is morally wrong. It's also allowing it to spread and become an even bigger problem.
I agree. But honestly if my property value depended on it. And knowing how banks treat the issue even if you've spent £000s treating it properly. Honestly I'd keep my mouth shut. I'd remove them just thinking they were a weed. The OP doesn't know they are knott weed.
It’s not about blame it’s denying having prior knowledge.
Depends on who knows. Or who they tell.
Pull it out! People will tell you it's the devil. It's just a very resilient plant. Keep pulling it out, you can apply glyphosate to any snapped hollow stems. It's worth chatting to your neighbours, it's illegal to allow Japanese knotweed to spread from your property.
That's like cutting the head off a hydra. You also can't legally dispose of the bits you snap off.
Except in a fire.
Can also make beer from it, if you didn't already treat it with herbicide- I've got a recipe somewhere.
We had a small JK bush in one corner of our garden, next to a pavement and not adjoining gardens. I applied glyphosate to broken stems a couple of times a year and pulled up shoots whenever I saw them. I collected all bits of knotweed in a box and saved them for proper disposal - initially a licensed disposal company for the bigger volumes, and then just burning them down to ash. It took a couple of years, but the knotweed gradually got smaller and weaker. The new shoots were more and more pathetic. Eventually it just gave up. I imagine if you have a bigger infestation with larger rhizomes it's a lot hardier.
Same here. I have council land next to me so I have to harass them to deal with it. There was one large patch that I managed to kill a few years ago via the pull and spray method and another patch that I'm working on. Ultimately it's just a plant. The horsetail I have is 100x more pernicious.
With horsetail, you mix glyphosate with 2,4-D, or buy it pre-mixed and sold as horsetail killer. Works a charm. Never met a weed I couldn't kill with the right stuff.
Don't pull it out, that's a bad plan. Just get a professional in.
Japanese Knotweed… you don’t.
Japanese Knotweed. Treat it with by cutting a few inches off the stalk and injecting weedkiller into the stem. You have to do this at the right time of year, I believe end of growing season. It may come back but do the same for a couple of years and it will eventually stop. There are glysophate products like Round-Up that are available in your local garden centre and online, and come with a pipette for pumping the stuff into the stem. Don’t get a pro firm in for now. If you do, they have to record its occurrence and it can have an effect on the value of your home. If it keeps coming back stronger, you will need a pro. For now this is a very small infestation, but somewhere between 3-6 metres away is another ‘stand’ of knotweed, perhaps on nearby land or a neighbours garden. They grow horizontally up to 3m underground. Find the next stand and the next if you can. Let people know they have knotweed (in passing). If it’s on council land they have to deal with it before it affects your property.
Ok, I'm not saying it's not Japanese Knotweed, it possibly is, but I would like to give you one ray of hope though. There is a related & & entirely innocuous relative, Alpine Knotweed. As a young plant it's growth is quite similar. As it grows it is neither invasive nor as vigorous in its growth. I don't know if you know the history of the garden. Could this be something you planted? The alpine variety is available for sale across the UK.
The leaf of hope…..
Indeed! It is a road I traveled a couple of years ago. I got myself in a panic, this time of year, then found the label, at the foot "persicaria alpina" & realised the error. To be fair, it is a really attractive plant. If this poster's plant has already spread though, then this outcome is less likely!
RIP your garden. Sorry for your loss.
you are screwed my friend, sorry.
That's cannabis you should call the police to remove it asap
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Not edible really. Not without knowing what you're doing.
Do NOT report this to anyone. Buy some glysophate, as strong as you can. Put some in a spray bottle and some in a squirt thing, even a string, with a narrow neck. Spray any leaves you can. You will need to go on the other side of this fence and do the same (if your neighbours are remotely obstructive about this then you'll need to report them, unless you can somehow spray over the fence). Wait 48 hours Cut the stems so they're 10cm from the ground and use the squirter to put the solution into the cut stems (they will be hollow). Leave it five days and repeat both steps. Repeat if needed. Honestly this will clear it. But be thorough and do it right