The UK Takes a Serious Approach to Invasive Plants

By Judith Warrington, JRA Communications Coordinator

England’s gardens are famous and the stringent control of invasive plants may be one reason why they are so beautiful. On a recent trip to London, a homeowner Q&A column in the Evening Standard came as a real surprise.

A homeowner in the UK was selling a property and the buyer’s surveyor had found some Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), an invasive plant, on the grounds. The surveyor said the Japanese knotweed would have to be reported to the buyer’s mortgage lender. And, unless it was eradicated, the plant could even prevent the sale of the property. The sellers were questioning the validity of this claim.

It turns out that in the UK, landowners are legally obligated under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act to prevent this plant from spreading…and not just by pulling it up and tossing in the rubbish bin either. According to the article, under the Environmental Protection Action 1990, Japanese knotweed is classified as controlled waste and must be disposed of properly. The UK’s Environmental Agency has a Japanese Knotweed Code of Practice that details how to prevent it from spreading, how to treat it, and how to dispose of the plant. That’s a serious approach to an invasive plant!

Bill Johnson http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/faja.htm

Japanese knotweed is also found throughout the Mid-Atlantic States, including widely scattered areas in Virginia, where it grows in moist open habitats such as along riverbanks. Ironically, this Asian plant was introduced to the US via England as an ornamental and for erosion control in the late 19^thcentury.  Here in the US it is also recognized as an invasive.

Over the past 100 years invasive plants have changed the face of our landscape. Imagine what the southern US would look like without kudzu. In the James River watershed non-native plants such as Bush honeysuckle, Purple loosestrife and English ivy tend to be vigorous growers that choke out native plants and some of these invasive plants are even sold in nurseries for home gardeners.

While a bit of ivy won’t hold up your house sale, if we took a stronger stand on invasive plants in our own yards and in public parks, the local ecosystem would thank us.  For more information on identifying and eradicating local invasive plants, including Japanese knotweed, the National Park Services offers a downloadable guide called “Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas.” http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/midatlanticprint.htm