Letter to the editor: information on Japanese knotweed

To the editor,

At Town Meeting on March 19, there was discussion of Japanese knotweed and using chemical herbicide to deal with it. The Gardens section of the March 18 Financial Times has a fascinating article on the global history of the plant. Two excerpts for your info:

“This is a plant that is perfectly adapted for world domination. It grows rapidly from an incredibly strong rootstock, so robust it is capable of pushing through tarmac and, reputedly, through concrete and building foundations. Try to dig it out and you’ll find the roots go down deep and are near [sic] impossible to remove by hand.  Leave a tiny fragment of root behind and—boom—back it comes.  Allowed to spread unchallenged, it can colonize vast areas, not only potentially causing damage to the built environment but also wiping out native plants and displacing the wildlife that relies on them…

“How to beat the pest: if Japanese knotweed is on your property, seek specialist know-how…. Control of the pest often involves chemical herbicide whose application requires careful timing to coincide with flowering if it is to work effectively. One cycle of herbicide is unlikely to make any significant impact and, typically, treatment can continue for two or three years…”

I wish our Conservation Commission luck and hope they will consider posting sightings of the pest so neighbors can be on the lookout.

Sincerely,

Roy Harvey
Stonehedge Road

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.