On 28/06/2011 23:08, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , Bob Hobden
writes
"clive" wrote ...
Jake wrote:
clive wrote:
I'd like to get some Japanese Knotweed as an ornamental plant for the
garden.
I know people have run into difficulties if they let it get out of
control, so to forestall any problems I'd plan to grow it in a large
pot, or possibly a raised bed.
Besides making sure it doesn't set seed and pruning regularly to
keep it
in check, are there any other gotchas to bear in mind?
Whaaaaaaaat! It's not April the first is it? Or do you live on the
Isle
of Wight?
Gotcha - in effect your proposal is illegal.
And bloody stupid!
Damn, I swore!
Er, what? Illegal???
As I said I intend to be careful about preventing it propagating further
in my garden, so I can't really see there should be a problem keeping it
in a pot or raised bed.
Having looked up the DEFRA advice I'm not so sure it is illegal to do
what you intend. I would not do it, having seen how it destroys native
flora and simply takes over, but I can't see why you can't if you wish
to take the risk.
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/wildlife...ent/non-native
/knotweed.htm#ga
If you do plant it in a pot do let us know how long it took to smash
the pot, get into the soil through the drainage holes, how much you
have had to spend to eradicate it from your garden, how much your
divorce cost ......... :-(
Is it just the roots that are considered hazardous waste, or would be
pruned stems also fall into that category.
Probably both. Although I reckon after it has been sun dried for a good
couple of weeks the stems are no real threat. I am less sure about the
roots - best burn them. The stuff is hellishly invasive though and will
cause a lot of problems. The roots *will* find a way into free ground no
matter what he does and then he will be back here asking how to kill it
using over the counter weedkillers. Short answer is you can't.
Is there any news on the control species that they were thinking of
introducing to remove its vigour?
At this time of year I find it hard to believe that anyone who has ever
seen this stuff would even contemplate putting it into their own garden!
Regards,
Martin Brown