I applaud your chemical free solution. I’ve been battling my knot weed for three years now. First I dug up as many big roots I could, knowing it would grow back the next year. The next spring I pulled the stalks whenever I saw them sprouting until July. In the fall I spray them with glysophate so the plant will carry the herbicide to the roots. I expect another year before it’s gone. It’s getting better.
This is one of the few weeds that I condone and encourage the use of chemical controls. I am glad I got mine gone manually, but after experiencing it, I wouldn't wish that on anyone! It sounds like you know about the window when sprays are effective - from flower to frost.
Clever idea to cover the roots with a box. Did it seem to work? I had two small patches on my property that I’ve been working on for multiple years. Sometimes it feels like it’s getting worse instead of better. The large mother plant was only a 12 inch clump to start out with and we thought we carefully removed all the root. Since it’s been gone we have an area about 8-10 feet across in its place where tons of tender little baby plants sprout up. I’ve been meticulously digging up my garden bed trying to get all the roots. My hubby and I just did our 4th dig this spring. Since I dig this area up so much I’ve started spreading sedum because I can move it and put it back down without it getting too upset.
So far I have had Knotweed return, but only near the fences - it's coming back in from the neighbor's sides. The area where the box was buried has not had anything return yet, but that box was 6' deep so it might come back later. The roots can lay dormant but still viable for several years so time will tell.
@@GardenUPLandscape I wonder if burying sheets of metal roofing along your fence would help deter, or at least contain the growth a bit. Keep up the good fight, it builds muscles.
I have had success smothering them. I put a vinyl mesh over them after cutting them to the ground, then topped with 2" of earth or mulch. They will still come up around edges, so keep up with that, but I'm rid of hundreds of them that way. And now I'm eating the spring shoots as a cure for Lyme.
@@Juicy_dynamite digging is frustration. If a tiny piece gets left, it will grow. Smothering is the way, but iy needs to be strong and seamless to work
Japanese Knotweed is a rhizome. If not careful, even a small chunk of that plant falling into another part of your yard or garden can cause it spread. A good glyphosate strategy, targeting emergent plants and years of dilligence would save you a lot of digging. I've also done the digging and learned the hard way about the rhizome. I accitdently threw some soil from an area with knotweed into our compost pile and voila, a year later I had a new patch of knotweed. It's nasty stuff. Glypho, let it die, carefully harvest the bamboo shoots late fall when they are dead and burn them, do not compost.
You are correct, and this is one of the few plants that I recommend chemical treatments. Glyphosate has to be injected at just the right time in order to work. But for myself, I'm an organic gardener and my company uses organic practices. I also have pets and a young child at home so I will not use chemicals in my yard. I also plan on using this space for growing food so that's triple no to chemical solutions. I hope this video shows hope to some that it is possible to beat this plant using organic practices. But I wouldn't even try it if the patch was much bigger than this was. There are some cases when chemicals are the best option.
According to other informative videos about Japanese knot weed, i think you guys are actually spreading it and making it worst by digging up the roots and breaking them. But according to your description, sounds like you rid of it. Got to give it to you guys for all that work. I think pieces of the stuff can lay dormant for up to 20 years then grow again.
Yes, we did get rid of it. We were very careful to dig out the complete roots - no easy feat! One neighbor still has it behind their garage, so we'll be fighting it from that side for years :( But I am carefully planting in the area finally!
Lol, yeah we figured it was something like that! Thanks for watching! If you haven't subscribed to our channel yet please do! We'd love to have you join us!
I envy your ability to just dig everything up. Our Japanese Knotweed invasion is mixed up with both mature and young trees we don't want to sacrifice. Sadly, glyco is the only way out.
Deepest sympathies. Yes, I was very lucky with this patch - it was in a flat corner with sandy loam soil, we don't even have many rocks like most gardens in my area. Many patches of jkw grow in riverbanks which would be impossible to dig, and if it's mixed with tree roots forget about it. I hate chemical controls but this is one plant where I encourage it's use.
Got two acres of our five acre homestead that is ABSOLUTELY OVER RAN!! It gets 8 feet tall in places and is so dense you'll nearly hang up an atv or 4 wd vehicle if you attempt to drive over it and mash it down!! I hate it!!!!
I had a similar issue over an acre. I managed to get rid of it by spraying Roundup in August as this is when the plant starts to take the nutrients back to the root for winter. This then kills the roots and rhizome. It came back a small bit the following year, and after doing the same again it hasn't resurfaced. Hope this helps.
To tackle a huge patch like you have, (first make a few trails on the inside and also blaze a trail around the perimeter), start inside the clump and spray all the stems, then start at the back and work your way out spraying the undersides of the leaves. Next, go around the perimeter of the patch, carefully spraying all the leaves around the outer edge. Lastly, open your nozzle to full stream and spray over the top of the patch from all sides. Take heart, next year the knotweed will be stunted and easier to spray. 1)The ultimate date for spraying Knotweed is on or around September 15, after the bees are done pollinating. 2) Use 2 ounces Glyphosate and one ounce of a sticker per gallon. 3) Tighten your nozzle to just more than a mist (depending on distance away from the plant) and cover every inch of each plant, first the stem, then leaves and undersides of leaves too if at all possible. 4) The silver bullet to eradicating knotweed is this... when you are done thoroughly spraying... wait for the herbicide to be totally absorbed/dry and spray it all over again one more time! (2nd spray could be done the next day.) After only having 10 percent eradication of the knotweed clumps I treated year after year (for 10 years)... I finally used the double spray in one day technique and found 90% eradication the following season!
Well, I admire your tenacity, for trying to dig up those roots, but I'll wait to see what's going on in the next couple of years, because I really don't think you have eradicated it. Here's hoping you did!
LOL, yeah... I found a few new shoots this spring. Most of the ones that I've dug up so far were from little chunks of root that we must've missed. One was coming up from the neighbor's side so I dug it to just past the fence line and pulled as much as I could of that one. There are still a few shoots coming up from the other neighbor. It's behind their garage and I doubt they even know it's there. So I'm going to be digging a bit to get those out. For the most part though, we seem to be ahead of it!
I bought a house and the neighbor has this in his back yard. It's grown so think and heavy it knocked over the wood fence. It grew into my yard about 10' over and about 200' along the property line and fence. I keep chopping and cutting knowing it will never go away. I've told the neighbor but I think he has a mental problem since his back yard looks like a jungle. I've even reported this to Midwest invasive Species Network but they never replied back.
That sounds like a nightmare! I'm so sorry you are dealing with that. I wish I could offer better advice, but with this plant there just isn't much that can be done - it's either carefully timed chemical injections (not sprays, they wont work), digging forever, or solarizing/smothering, all of which are hit or miss with their results. I'm still pulling up shoots that creep in from the neighbor's sides.
I find this actually the best way also. People are just Lazy not wanting to dig. All this with spreading the plants to new parts of the garden is a lie. Yes it happens if you move that soil to a different place. But dont do that and your better doing this. But yes you will break it and it will come up again. Never give up. Or use chemicals like glyphosate. But do this first. The most dumb and ignorent thing is to do nothing. I admire your family!
I agree with your sentiment, but honestly after doing this I wouldn't wish it on anyone. The only reason I was able to accomplish this task is because I had so much help from my employees during trainings.
And easier but longer way is to sprayed it with a strong week killer each year for 3 years to get rid of it properly. You have to dig 2 meters down and also a thumb size amount can grow back. It's such an annoying plant as it can grow through anything concrete etc.
From what I've researched, herbicides are not always a reliable way to control Japanese Knotweed. You have to treat at exactly the right time and even then it might not work. In my case, I have a kid and pets so I don't use chemicals in my yard.
Horrible plant. It's here in Norway too. I found it nearby my property on the other side of the road in a slope. Started with removing as much as possible and praying that the roots are not under my lawn already. I hate using poisons but may consider glyphosate foam if it spreads more.
Sending my sympathy your way 😢 I managed to dig mine as you saw in the video, but it was an intense process that took years and dug up a huge chunk of my lawn. Digging tends to spread the roots, so if it wasn't under your lawn before you dug, it might be headed that way now. This is one of the few plants that I wholeheartedly support the use of glyphosate on.
oh no, my friend, you chose the wrong way to fight the Japanese knotweed. Try to learn how to cook Chinese dishes, and the delicious knotweed will distinct soon
@@voxdomesticus Very little! There is one piece that keeps coming up right next to a fence post. My guess is it has a piece of root in the concrete that I can't get out, so I just keep digging what I can each time I see it, which now is less than once a year! There are a couple other shoots that still creep over from the neighbors side of the fence, and I'm actually thinking I'll coordinate a glyphosate plan with them starting this fall. The roots go under their garage, so even if they wanted to dig they wouldn't be able to.
It does have medicinal and edible properties, but in my opinion it isn't worth loosing your property value over. This plant can actually destroy your house, heave your concrete, take over your entire yard or property and displace native plants and wildlife. It's on noxious weed lists in every county and country except it's native home of Japan. If you want to keep some then put it in a big pot on your patio and for the love of goodness don't let it go to seed!
Thanks for watching! Subscribe for more gardening tips, tricks and hacks! And a whole series on difficult weeds! See you in the garden!
:)
I applaud your chemical free solution. I’ve been battling my knot weed for three years now. First I dug up as many big roots I could, knowing it would grow back the next year. The next spring I pulled the stalks whenever I saw them sprouting until July. In the fall I spray them with glysophate so the plant will carry the herbicide to the roots. I expect another year before it’s gone. It’s getting better.
This is one of the few weeds that I condone and encourage the use of chemical controls. I am glad I got mine gone manually, but after experiencing it, I wouldn't wish that on anyone! It sounds like you know about the window when sprays are effective - from flower to frost.
Clever idea to cover the roots with a box. Did it seem to work? I had two small patches on my property that I’ve been working on for multiple years. Sometimes it feels like it’s getting worse instead of better. The large mother plant was only a 12 inch clump to start out with and we thought we carefully removed all the root. Since it’s been gone we have an area about 8-10 feet across in its place where tons of tender little baby plants sprout up. I’ve been meticulously digging up my garden bed trying to get all the roots. My hubby and I just did our 4th dig this spring. Since I dig this area up so much I’ve started spreading sedum because I can move it and put it back down without it getting too upset.
So far I have had Knotweed return, but only near the fences - it's coming back in from the neighbor's sides. The area where the box was buried has not had anything return yet, but that box was 6' deep so it might come back later. The roots can lay dormant but still viable for several years so time will tell.
@@GardenUPLandscape I wonder if burying sheets of metal roofing along your fence would help deter, or at least contain the growth a bit. Keep up the good fight, it builds muscles.
I have had success smothering them. I put a vinyl mesh over them after cutting them to the ground, then topped with 2" of earth or mulch. They will still come up around edges, so keep up with that, but I'm rid of hundreds of them that way. And now I'm eating the spring shoots as a cure for Lyme.
Good plan! Keep an eye on the edges of the vinyl though, I have a feeling the roots will find their way to the edge at some point.
@@GardenUPLandscape some survive at the edges, or at any unguarded seams, but they are mostly dead within two years.
So you didn’t dig deep like they did in the video? I’ve started digging but not that deep I’m going to try your method I hope it works🤞🤞
@@Juicy_dynamite digging is frustration. If a tiny piece gets left, it will grow. Smothering is the way, but iy needs to be strong and seamless to work
Japanese Knotweed is a rhizome. If not careful, even a small chunk of that plant falling into another part of your yard or garden can cause it spread. A good glyphosate strategy, targeting emergent plants and years of dilligence would save you a lot of digging. I've also done the digging and learned the hard way about the rhizome. I accitdently threw some soil from an area with knotweed into our compost pile and voila, a year later I had a new patch of knotweed. It's nasty stuff. Glypho, let it die, carefully harvest the bamboo shoots late fall when they are dead and burn them, do not compost.
You are correct, and this is one of the few plants that I recommend chemical treatments. Glyphosate has to be injected at just the right time in order to work.
But for myself, I'm an organic gardener and my company uses organic practices. I also have pets and a young child at home so I will not use chemicals in my yard. I also plan on using this space for growing food so that's triple no to chemical solutions.
I hope this video shows hope to some that it is possible to beat this plant using organic practices. But I wouldn't even try it if the patch was much bigger than this was. There are some cases when chemicals are the best option.
According to other informative videos about Japanese knot weed, i think you guys are actually spreading it and making it worst by digging up the roots and breaking them. But according to your description, sounds like you rid of it. Got to give it to you guys for all that work. I think pieces of the stuff can lay dormant for up to 20 years then grow again.
Yes, we did get rid of it. We were very careful to dig out the complete roots - no easy feat! One neighbor still has it behind their garage, so we'll be fighting it from that side for years :( But I am carefully planting in the area finally!
Super impressive determination. I got that 🤬 in my yard now. Not looking forward to eradicating it.
Good luck! It's a war to be sure, but if you are more tenacious than the weed you will win eventually!
There is an old saying: "If you want to get rid of knotweed, switch to a different garden"
😂🤣 accurate
surely you guys know the roots go down up to 25 feet deep!!!
Lol, yeah we figured it was something like that! Thanks for watching! If you haven't subscribed to our channel yet please do! We'd love to have you join us!
I envy your ability to just dig everything up. Our Japanese Knotweed invasion is mixed up with both mature and young trees we don't want to sacrifice. Sadly, glyco is the only way out.
Deepest sympathies. Yes, I was very lucky with this patch - it was in a flat corner with sandy loam soil, we don't even have many rocks like most gardens in my area. Many patches of jkw grow in riverbanks which would be impossible to dig, and if it's mixed with tree roots forget about it. I hate chemical controls but this is one plant where I encourage it's use.
Got two acres of our five acre homestead that is ABSOLUTELY OVER RAN!!
It gets 8 feet tall in places and is so dense you'll nearly hang up an atv or 4 wd vehicle if you attempt to drive over it and mash it down!!
I hate it!!!!
OMG that is terrible! I had enough trouble with this little corner! 5 acres 😬
I had a similar issue over an acre. I managed to get rid of it by spraying Roundup in August as this is when the plant starts to take the nutrients back to the root for winter. This then kills the roots and rhizome. It came back a small bit the following year, and after doing the same again it hasn't resurfaced.
Hope this helps.
To tackle a huge patch like you have, (first make a few trails on the inside and also blaze a trail around the perimeter), start inside the clump and spray all the stems, then start at the back and work your way out spraying the undersides of the leaves. Next, go around the perimeter of the patch, carefully spraying all the leaves around the outer edge. Lastly, open your nozzle to full stream and spray over the top of the patch from all sides. Take heart, next year the knotweed will be stunted and easier to spray.
1)The ultimate date for spraying Knotweed is on or around September 15, after the bees are done pollinating.
2) Use 2 ounces Glyphosate and one ounce of a sticker per gallon.
3) Tighten your nozzle to just more than a mist (depending on distance away from the plant) and cover every inch of each plant, first the stem, then leaves and undersides of leaves too if at all possible.
4) The silver bullet to eradicating knotweed is this... when you are done thoroughly spraying... wait for the herbicide to be totally absorbed/dry and spray it all over again one more time! (2nd spray could be done the next day.)
After only having 10 percent eradication of the knotweed clumps I treated year after year (for 10 years)... I finally used the double spray in one day technique and found 90% eradication the following season!
Well, I admire your tenacity, for trying to dig up those roots, but I'll wait to see what's going on in the next couple of years, because I really don't think you have eradicated it. Here's hoping you did!
LOL, yeah... I found a few new shoots this spring. Most of the ones that I've dug up so far were from little chunks of root that we must've missed. One was coming up from the neighbor's side so I dug it to just past the fence line and pulled as much as I could of that one. There are still a few shoots coming up from the other neighbor. It's behind their garage and I doubt they even know it's there. So I'm going to be digging a bit to get those out. For the most part though, we seem to be ahead of it!
We just bought a 300 acre house and we have 20+ acres of this
My deepest sympathies. :'(
I bought a house and the neighbor has this in his back yard. It's grown so think and heavy it knocked over the wood fence. It grew into my yard about 10' over and about 200' along the property line and fence. I keep chopping and cutting knowing it will never go away. I've told the neighbor but I think he has a mental problem since his back yard looks like a jungle. I've even reported this to Midwest invasive Species Network but they never replied back.
That sounds like a nightmare! I'm so sorry you are dealing with that. I wish I could offer better advice, but with this plant there just isn't much that can be done - it's either carefully timed chemical injections (not sprays, they wont work), digging forever, or solarizing/smothering, all of which are hit or miss with their results. I'm still pulling up shoots that creep in from the neighbor's sides.
I find this actually the best way also. People are just Lazy not wanting to dig. All this with spreading the plants to new parts of the garden is a lie. Yes it happens if you move that soil to a different place. But dont do that and your better doing this. But yes you will break it and it will come up again. Never give up. Or use chemicals like glyphosate. But do this first. The most dumb and ignorent thing is to do nothing. I admire your family!
I agree with your sentiment, but honestly after doing this I wouldn't wish it on anyone. The only reason I was able to accomplish this task is because I had so much help from my employees during trainings.
Kobe thought you were looking for his secrets...
LOL! It wouldn't surprise me if he had a few things buried over there.
And easier but longer way is to sprayed it with a strong week killer each year for 3 years to get rid of it properly. You have to dig 2 meters down and also a thumb size amount can grow back. It's such an annoying plant as it can grow through anything concrete etc.
From what I've researched, herbicides are not always a reliable way to control Japanese Knotweed. You have to treat at exactly the right time and even then it might not work. In my case, I have a kid and pets so I don't use chemicals in my yard.
Concrete over that root when you had it dug deep.
Lol yeah, that might have done it. Not sure though. It might have still won...
Horrible plant. It's here in Norway too. I found it nearby my property on the other side of the road in a slope. Started with removing as much as possible and praying that the roots are not under my lawn already. I hate using poisons but may consider glyphosate foam if it spreads more.
Sending my sympathy your way 😢
I managed to dig mine as you saw in the video, but it was an intense process that took years and dug up a huge chunk of my lawn. Digging tends to spread the roots, so if it wasn't under your lawn before you dug, it might be headed that way now. This is one of the few plants that I wholeheartedly support the use of glyphosate on.
Oh my God!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah pretty much
oh no, my friend, you chose the wrong way to fight the Japanese knotweed. Try to learn how to cook Chinese dishes, and the delicious knotweed will distinct soon
Thanks for the tips! I learned after I had finally eradicated it that it was edible and possibly medicinal.
@@GardenUPLandscape Any regrowth?
@@voxdomesticus Very little! There is one piece that keeps coming up right next to a fence post. My guess is it has a piece of root in the concrete that I can't get out, so I just keep digging what I can each time I see it, which now is less than once a year! There are a couple other shoots that still creep over from the neighbors side of the fence, and I'm actually thinking I'll coordinate a glyphosate plan with them starting this fall. The roots go under their garage, so even if they wanted to dig they wouldn't be able to.
Lucky you ! You're sitting on a pile of gold. Those are medecine plant
It does have medicinal and edible properties, but in my opinion it isn't worth loosing your property value over. This plant can actually destroy your house, heave your concrete, take over your entire yard or property and displace native plants and wildlife. It's on noxious weed lists in every county and country except it's native home of Japan. If you want to keep some then put it in a big pot on your patio and for the love of goodness don't let it go to seed!