Hi there,

I have a Japanese knotweed problem in my area, but am alarmed to see a huge number of seedlings popping up in the garden. I'm not sure they are Japanese Knotweed though, in fact I'm leaning towards thinking theyre not from google searches - can anyone confirm either way?

Here are some of seedlings, one has its first set of proper leaves.

Thanks in advance!!

hi Jimbo, Im sure that they are sycamore seedlings, my garden is also full of them.
best wishes, Lannerman

Thanks Lannerman, I posted on another forum too and got the same reply so happy very with the answer, thanks for taking the time.

Yes, I also have them right now and loads of the little blighters are popping up. They are sycamore seedlings.

As above, these do seem to be Sycamore.

If you are worried about Knotweed, it grows from the rhizome rather than seedling so if you had a patch very nearby and it was growing then you could be sure this was the problem. Thankfully in your case it's not so!

When you're looking at a seedling and trying to figure out if it might be
Japanese knotweed, compare it to the photo he
http://www.invasive.org/weedcd/image...24/1557061.jpg

Do you see the little red line around the stem at each leaf, with the
papery pair of bract-looking things sort of wrapping around the stem?
Those are modified stipules, and the structure, called an ocrea and it's pretty
diagnostic for the knotweed/buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. No ocrea,
and you can forget about the possibility that you're dealing with
P. cuspidatum. This family also typically has swollen nodes, so the stems
tend to look like knobby knees.

Good weed site: http://www.invasive.org
Page on P. cuspidatum: http://www.invasive.org/weedcd/species/3414.htm

Kay