Hi Folks, I just wanted to throw in my $.02 on the subject of controlling Japanese Knotweed. This past week I spent two days removing the knotweed from hill along the side of my driveway. The infestation had been growing for about two years and spreading rapidly. In my case, the hillside that was covered in knotweed also had some plants that I wanted to save- some sugar maples, four varieties of ferns, and some viburnum, so using a foliar spray was out of the question. Instead, I used the "cut stem application" as outlined in this document: http://www.pullman-wa.gov/content/WYSIWYG/Recreation/Japanese%20knotweed.pdf The document recommends cutting the canes between the first and second node and filling the "well" with concentrated herbicide (I chose plain Glyophosphate, you choose your own poison). The document claims this method is 95% effective. Another method involves injecting the plant with herbicide using an injection tool. The upside to this method is that you don't need to dispose of the cut canes. In all, it took me just about two days to clear the hillside. I cut enough canes to completely fill my 8' truck bed two times. I'll keep an eye on the area for the next year or so in case any survivors pop up. -Josh-

catherinet, The invasion of wiidlands by Garlic Mustard and Honeysuckle is not evolution, it is destruction of the ecosystem by human intervention. If Garlic Mustard (or any other non-native plant) had naturall invaded North America when the continent was in an undisturbed condition, it would have had to spread through mostly intact plant communities and would have had to spread on its own, without human help. It would have moved at a very slow pace, and insects, diseases, and other forces that control natural plant populations would have slowly adapted to feed on Garlic Mustard. As it slowly spread across the continent, it would have become part of the native flora like hundreds of other species have done, and it wouldn't have cause any problems. As it turned out, Garlic Mustard was introduced by man and has spread rapidly in disturbed areas, then spreading into less disturbed areas of woodland. Its spread has been greatly helped by mankind, as have the invasions by dozens of other plants, and the problem continues today. I am sure that there are a dozen plants being sold and grown in gardens, or introduced as weeds in imported seed or soil that will, in thirty years, be just as bad as Garlic Mustard. We never learn. It is possible to get ahead of invasive poants on your property, however. Take a look around the woods near you. You can probably find some areas where few invaisve plants are growing. These areas are stable with well established native plant populations, and eventually you can make your woodland into one of these places. one of the first steps is removing invasive plants, but adding native plants should not be far behind. I think as you're working to get rid of invasives it is important to be planting natives at the same time because removing invasives is frustrating and you sometimes seem to lose ground faster than you can gain it. Growing plants, on the other hand, tends to move in the right direction once you get the plants established successfully, and makes a nice contrast to plent removal.

It’s one of the Barbareas. You’ll find that it looks less and less like GM as it grows. Note that unlike GM it has very glossy, deeply lobed foliage and it will smell of pepper rather than garlic. The flowers will be yellow. But it’s in the same family, Brassicaceae.

Unfortunately, the garlic mustard has dropped seed for however many years it has been growing on the two acres. Those seeds can remain viable under the soil for at least ten years, so you need to keep pulling the plants and preventing them from going to seed, until the seeds in the soil have been exhausted. Fortunately, if you don’t bring the seeds to the surface, they might never have a chance to germinate. But, when you pull the plants, that can bring the seeds to the surface. So, it just takes long term dedication. It can be a huge job. I had a similar situation that I worked on for four years before a job transfer took me away from the property. I found the garlic mustard pulling somewhat therapeutic. But, I also succumbed to using weed killer on zillions of microscopic sprouts that showed before the native wildflowers sprouted. Good luck.