Japanese knotweed is a true monster: Once planted, it ruthlessly pushes out any other plants and spreads unchecked. In addition, the “green monster” is very difficult to destroy again.
How do I fight Japanese knotweed?
To effectively combat Japanese knotweed, you can pull out young shoots, dig up plants and their roots, mow them regularly, let sheep or goats graze the area or cover it with black foil. However, all of these methods require time and persistence.
Why fight knotweed?
Although Japanese knotweed is not poisonous to humans, it still has numerous reasons for destruction:
- displaces native plants
- and therefore also food plants for insects
- and food plants for wild animals
- blows up asph alt
- and penetrates foundations.
Propagation via rhizomes
The roots of Japanese knotweed can grow up to three meters - and even deeper - into the ground. They also have thickenings, so-called rhizomes, from which the plant grows again and again. In addition, the Japanese knotweed is also able to reproduce through the smallest parts of shoots - these root themselves and produce new plants.
What you need to pay attention to when eradicating Japanese knotweed
For this reason, it is important to observe the following precautionary measures:
- Dispose of all plant parts, even the smallest ones, immediately.
- However, they do not belong in the compost or organic waste!
- It is best to dispose of it in the black bin
- or burn.
Garden soil with plant or root components should also not be used and should instead be disposed of.
Fighting Japanese knotweed
There are several ways to get rid of stubborn Japanese knotweed. However, in many cases chemical control using a broad-spectrum herbicide - Roundup is usually used - is out of the question. For good reasons, these products are generally not allowed to be used in private gardens without permission. In addition, particularly strict rules apply if you live in a water protection or nature reserve. Roundup and other herbicides harm the environment and contaminate water. The following methods turned out to be very lengthy, but ultimately successful:
| Method | Implementation | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rip away | continuous tearing out of young shoots with roots | Removing a few young plants | not possible with older plants |
| not very sustainable / lengthy | |||
| Dig up / dig up | Dig up plants completely including roots | complete removal of a few young plants | must be repeated several times |
| Remaining root remnants keep sprouting | |||
| Mowing | Mow young shoots every two weeks with the lawnmower | strong containment of growth | no complete elimination |
| Root residue remains on the lawnmower | |||
| Grazing | vegetated area grazed by sheep and goats all year round | strong containment of growth | no complete elimination |
| difficult disposal no longer required | Animals have to get used to it first | ||
| Cover with foil | Cover the plant with thick, black foil (€14.00 on Amazon) | Plant dies | very tedious |
| Plant still needs to be dug up |
Tip
If you don't know what to do with all the young shoots: These are edible as a vegetable, similar to our rhubarb.
