How do I kill field bindweed and Japanese knotweed?
 

I am restoring an urban garden that has seen about 30 years of neglect. When
I started the garden was completely covered by ivy, briars and nettles and I
am nearly finished digging out an ash trees roots whoose base covers 5' x
5'. The soil in this garden is perfect and the aspect is south-west and
there are two mature plum trees I can recover.
However there are neglected plots on either side of the wall that are home
to two very nasty plants whoose roots are starting to creep under the wall.
On one side there is bindweed and the other is Japanese knotweed. Both are
heavily infested with said plants and the sites are effectivly abandoned,
one site has recently been sold, the other is the subject of a squatters
dispute.
Digging the roots out like the others looks like a fruitless task, so I'm
trying to figure out how to eliminate bindweed & knotweed. I'm open to
anyone's ideas or experience in controlling these plants?

"Raymond" wrote in message
...
I am restoring an urban garden that has seen about 30 years of
neglect. When
I started the garden was completely covered by ivy, briars and
nettles and I
am nearly finished digging out an ash trees roots whoose base covers
5' x
5'. The soil in this garden is perfect and the aspect is south-west
and
there are two mature plum trees I can recover.
However there are neglected plots on either side of the wall that
are home
to two very nasty plants whoose roots are starting to creep under
the wall.
On one side there is bindweed and the other is Japanese knotweed.
Both are
heavily infested with said plants and the sites are effectivly
abandoned,
one site has recently been sold, the other is the subject of a
squatters
dispute.
Digging the roots out like the others looks like a fruitless task,
so I'm
trying to figure out how to eliminate bindweed & knotweed. I'm open
to
anyone's ideas or experience in controlling these plants?

I suggest that your only hope is to apply doses of glyphosate at about
three-weekly intervals until you have beaten them. But you will have
to make sure that you treat the complete patches of the weeds, and not
just the psarts which are invading your garden.

Franz

"Raymond" wrote in message
...

[snip]

Have a good read at

http://www.ex.ac.uk/knotweed/

Franz

In article , Franz Heymann notfranz.
writes

I suggest that your only hope is to apply doses of glyphosate at about
three-weekly intervals until you have beaten them. But you will have
to make sure that you treat the complete patches of the weeds, and not
just the psarts which are invading your garden.

Except that glyphosate is translocated within the plant, surely? So
treating the bit in the garden would cause all the plant to die, even
that which was outside the garden. You would still have to treat each
new plant which showed its head within the garden, so it would probably
be an annual job.

Japanese knotweed is a pig to get rid of, and I think there are
restrictions on how you get rid of the bits - search the DEFRA site for
more info. Cutting off each new shoot as soon as it appears worked for
me on a small patch, pouring glyphosate down the cut off shoot might be
an added precaution.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Raymond" wrote in message
...
I am restoring an urban garden that has seen about 30 years of neglect.
When
I started the garden was completely covered by ivy, briars and nettles and
I
am nearly finished digging out an ash trees roots whoose base covers 5' x
5'. The soil in this garden is perfect and the aspect is south-west and
there are two mature plum trees I can recover.
However there are neglected plots on either side of the wall that are home
to two very nasty plants whoose roots are starting to creep under the
wall.
On one side there is bindweed and the other is Japanese knotweed. Both are
heavily infested with said plants and the sites are effectivly abandoned,
one site has recently been sold, the other is the subject of a squatters
dispute.
Digging the roots out like the others looks like a fruitless task, so I'm
trying to figure out how to eliminate bindweed & knotweed. I'm open to
anyone's ideas or experience in controlling these plants?


It sounds like you are stuck with the them long term since you can't get
help from the neighbours. As others have mentioned, eternal vigilence and
weedkiller but two notes to add.

Firstly, just hacking and slaying bindweed will get it under control. It
takes a while but a walk around the garden hacking it back to the ground
(bits stuck in bushes die off if you cut off their "feet") will tame it - it
just takes some patience. Took me about 2 years to finally say it "all but
gone". No weedkiller used at all though - green garden!

Secondly, I've heard that weedkillers work best in the autumn (maybe a
little late now) when plants such as these are "retracting" for the winter.
They draw down into the roots to hold out over the winter and thus draw in a
good dose of weedkiller too! Far less useful in spring where the sap is
rising, and taking the weedkiller up with it.

Good luck. I have most common weeds but J. Knotweed is one I've thus far
not spotted - and hopefully never will.

Paul DS.

A recommendation on bindweed is that you let the first shoots grow to a
decent size befrore you apply the weedkiller.
This allows the plant to absorb enough weedkiller to fill the root system.
"Paul D.Smith" wrote in message
. net...
"Raymond" wrote in message
...
I am restoring an urban garden that has seen about 30 years of neglect.
When
I started the garden was completely covered by ivy, briars and nettles
and
I
am nearly finished digging out an ash trees roots whoose base covers 5'
x
5'. The soil in this garden is perfect and the aspect is south-west and
there are two mature plum trees I can recover.
However there are neglected plots on either side of the wall that are
home
to two very nasty plants whoose roots are starting to creep under the
wall.
On one side there is bindweed and the other is Japanese knotweed. Both
are
heavily infested with said plants and the sites are effectivly
abandoned,
one site has recently been sold, the other is the subject of a squatters
dispute.
Digging the roots out like the others looks like a fruitless task, so
I'm
trying to figure out how to eliminate bindweed & knotweed. I'm open to
anyone's ideas or experience in controlling these plants?


It sounds like you are stuck with the them long term since you can't get
help from the neighbours. As others have mentioned, eternal vigilence and
weedkiller but two notes to add.

Firstly, just hacking and slaying bindweed will get it under control. It
takes a while but a walk around the garden hacking it back to the ground
(bits stuck in bushes die off if you cut off their "feet") will tame it -
it
just takes some patience. Took me about 2 years to finally say it "all
but
gone". No weedkiller used at all though - green garden!

Secondly, I've heard that weedkillers work best in the autumn (maybe a
little late now) when plants such as these are "retracting" for the
winter.
They draw down into the roots to hold out over the winter and thus draw in
a
good dose of weedkiller too! Far less useful in spring where the sap is
rising, and taking the weedkiller up with it.

Good luck. I have most common weeds but J. Knotweed is one I've thus far
not spotted - and hopefully never will.

Paul DS.