The above is a picture of the worst sort of invasive plant ever to make it's way to the United States (maybe with the exception of kudzu). It is called Japanese Stockweed and of course, it is all over our yard. The previous owner had some fill brought in from road work and spread it from front to back and the roots were in the soil. It is almost indestructible. It is impervious to fire, it loves Round-Up and by mowing it you are simply pruning it and making it stronger. It's roots can grow to seventy feet in length and the plant up to eight feet tall. In England it is so rampant that the cuttings are considered and treated like hazardous waste with a heavy fine for not disposing of them properly. Once you know what it looks like you will notice how it has proliferated along roadways all over the state. I called the NJ Department of Agriculture and was told they never heard of it and never had any complaints about it (?). I called the Rutgers Extension and one way to get rid of it is to cut it down to the ground and not let any leaves grow until it dies which is fine if you have a small patch of it. I have hundreds of them. Last year I kept mowing it and sprayed it with Round-Up a couple of times in September when the plants are storing energy in the roots. It didn't work. This year I will mow it down and cover a small patch at a time with black plastic in July in order to cook the roots and try to kill it that way. If anyone has had success in eradicating this demon please let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment