Japanese Knotweed Invading the UK.

In 'Jerusalem', the well-known and much loved hymn with words written by poet William Blake, England is referred to as a 'green and pleasant land'. While it is true that much of England, along with the entire United Kingdom , is indeed green, these lush areas are not always pleasant! When weeds take hold, they can be extremely damaging; one in particular is far more damaging than all of the others and its name is Fallopia Japonica...

You have probably never heard of Fallopia Japonica and that isn't surprising as it is only academics who use this name. To the rest of us it is known as Japanese knotweed and it is notorious for being the UK's most destructive weed. As the name suggests, it is not a native species; in fact, it was brought here by 19th century botanists as an ornamental plant, admired for its attractive white flowers, hardy bamboo-like stems and heart-shaped leaves. Within a very short space of time, it became shockingly clear what a terrible mistake those botanists had made.

One of the key aspects of Japanese knotweed that makes it such a pressing and serious issue is its extensive root system, which is incredibly strong and resilient. The worrying weed also exhibits extremely fast growth, which has been observed in some cases to be as much as 10cm a day. 

The aforementioned root system is easily capable of penetrating and subsequently exploiting the smallest of cracks in all kinds of structural elements like walls, driveways, pavements and foundations. As the roots enter such weak points and continue growing, the pressure exerted continues to mount, widening the cracks and causing them to multiply, destabilising the structure. Root growth like this can also infiltrate pipes and drainage systems, often resulting in floods.

After reading the above, you probably won't be at all surprised to learn that Japanese knotweed is subject to legislation and regulations here in the UK and indeed in numerous other countries. Though having Japanese Knotweed on your property is not in itself illegal, the owner of that property is legally responsible for preventing it spreading to neighbouring properties or into the wild. If the property owner fails to prevent such spreading, legal consequences can include hefty fines in addition to financial liability for any damage caused. 

As part of the Twistfix collection of professional weed control solutions, we are proud to supply Roundup Pro-Active. This reliably-effective herbicide, supplied in highly-concentrated form, can be used as part of the process of eradicating Japanese knotweed and is also effective against other hardy invasive weeds including hogweed and ivy.

Roundup Pro-Active is available to purchase from Twistfix in single 5-litre containers or, for enhanced cost-effectiveness, in a bulk pack which includes three such containers. Find out more on our website.