Japanese Knotweed is an aggressive, invasive plant imported to North America the late 19th century. Its stalks resemble bamboo but are much softer and can easily be cut or broken with a weed whip. Its leaves are pinnate, which means they are longer than they are wide, and the plant can easily grow ten feet tall.
Knotweed up close.
Knotweed is a pernicious invasive. It grows up to two inches overnight. It quickly crowds out other vegetation and leaches nutrients from the soil, potentially killing trees that have been in the park for generations. Fortunately, the youth crew knows how to deal with knotweed: build a maze, of course!
Clearing Knotweed
In a clearing in the wilderness lays a massive field of knotweed covering about two acres. While most of the teens hacked at it with weed whips and rakes, a few decided to tunnel through it. Several joined in and, before long, created a complicated series of branching paths that were quite fun to walk through. Too bad we had to tear it all down at the end of the day.
Knotweed is very difficult to get rid of. Park members have left in the roots, spraying vinegar on it and special organic pesticides with no success. If you see orange flags planted near specimens be sure to leave them alone, as this indicates an ongoing experiment to get rid of the plant.
