Am I right that this is Himalayan Balsam please?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HimalayanBalsam-1.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HimalayanBalsam-2.jpg

It was fairly prevalent on stretches of the River Swale in the Yorkshire
Dales when we walked it last summer.

Is this also strictly a weed, like the Rosebay Willowherb that was
identified for me here recently?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

On Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:25:47 +0100, Terry Pinnell wrote:

Am I right that this is Himalayan Balsam please?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HimalayanBalsam-1.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HimalayanBalsam-2.jpg

Google Images "himalayan balsam"

Looks like it to me but the closeup isn't quite good enout to be sure.

Is this also strictly a weed,

Define "weed". Is a "weed" any plant growing where it isn't wanted or a
specific group of plants?

Himalayan Balsam is non-native and invasive that could be one
classification for a group of plants to be "weeds".

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:25:47 +0100, Terry Pinnell
wrote:

Am I right that this is Himalayan Balsam please?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HimalayanBalsam-1.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HimalayanBalsam-2.jpg

It was fairly prevalent on stretches of the River Swale in the Yorkshire
Dales when we walked it last summer.

Is this also strictly a weed, like the Rosebay Willowherb that was
identified for me here recently?

That sure is HB. It is a "garden release" invader, a relative of the
impatiens walleriana that we all used to grow before the mildew to
which HB is resistant. Its seed pods explode scattering hundreds of
seeds over a distance of many metres and seem to have an almost 100%
germination rate. Many councils have now established HB Eradication
Teams and there are regular "events" where teams of volunteers try to
clear a stretch of riverbank or roadside of the stuff.

It is susceptible to glyphosate once some true leaves have developed
(the cotyledons are not susceptible for some reason) but as a plant
which frequently grows near water or roadside verges, hedgerows etc.,
where there will be other vegetation, weedkillers are not really an
option. But, fortunately, it's roots are shallow and confined and so
it pulls easily.

It has invaded my garden from some land next door and has defeated all
attempts over the last couple of years to eradicate it. I let it get
to a foot high before pulling as by then the stem is tough enough to
come up with the roots - pull earlier and it tends to snap off and the
roots regrow.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay. We don't yet have a
"dah dah dah dah dee dee deeee" theme tune but we're working on it.

Can't tell astilbe from aranthus
But I can from an acanthus!

Jake wrote:

On Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:25:47 +0100, Terry Pinnell
wrote:

Am I right that this is Himalayan Balsam please?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HimalayanBalsam-1.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HimalayanBalsam-2.jpg

It was fairly prevalent on stretches of the River Swale in the Yorkshire
Dales when we walked it last summer.

Is this also strictly a weed, like the Rosebay Willowherb that was
identified for me here recently?

That sure is HB. It is a "garden release" invader, a relative of the
impatiens walleriana that we all used to grow before the mildew to
which HB is resistant. Its seed pods explode scattering hundreds of
seeds over a distance of many metres and seem to have an almost 100%
germination rate. Many councils have now established HB Eradication
Teams and there are regular "events" where teams of volunteers try to
clear a stretch of riverbank or roadside of the stuff.

It is susceptible to glyphosate once some true leaves have developed
(the cotyledons are not susceptible for some reason) but as a plant
which frequently grows near water or roadside verges, hedgerows etc.,
where there will be other vegetation, weedkillers are not really an
option. But, fortunately, it's roots are shallow and confined and so
it pulls easily.

It has invaded my garden from some land next door and has defeated all
attempts over the last couple of years to eradicate it. I let it get
to a foot high before pulling as by then the stem is tough enough to
come up with the roots - pull earlier and it tends to snap off and the
roots regrow.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay. We don't yet have a
"dah dah dah dah dee dee deeee" theme tune but we're working on it.

Can't tell astilbe from aranthus
But I can from an acanthus!

Thank you.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK