I know this is invasive but it's also medicinal. I have a 5 acre field I'll going to plant it in. Is it a good nectar/pollen source for bees?
I remember someone talking about Japanize Knotwood here and here is what I found:
Offline KONASDAD
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Re: Odd Flavor
? Reply #10 on: September 24, 2008, 04:53:06 PM ?
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Both buckwheat and japanese knotwood bamboo make very dark honey. I just did a removal and extracted 3 lbs of totally black honey. tastes like rootbeer. And I mean black, totally.
Jim
It is very invasive and almost impossible to remove after it gets established. It has been known to throw shoots that grow up through pavement. I don't need to plant it because it is all over the place around here. The honey it produces is great bee feed but I don't think I would try to sell it. It looks nasty and I think it tastes pretty bad too. There are some people who like it however. The good part of it is that it blooms pretty late and if you pull honey off early the bees can stock up on it for winter. But, that is here. I don't know bloom times where you are. I do know I wouldn't plant it.
I can only say if I were to plant it here, they would arrest me... it is listed as a "noxious weed" and I am required to kill it any time it is on my property or they will come and kill it for me and send me the bill...
Quote from: Michael Bush on December 09, 2016, 02:07:07 PM
I can only say if I were to plant it here, they would arrest me... it is listed as a "noxious weed" and I am required to kill it any time it is on my property or they will come and kill it for me and send me the bill...
What do they use or what to they expect you to use to kill it? Everybody that I know who has tried to kill it has been unsuccessful. It just keeps coming back. The only thing that has been the least bit successful has been to mow it all season and keep it from growing more than the grass. But don't ever expect to have it not come back if you stop mowing.
I had a small patch that I removed, took all summer digging up any shoot that popped up. Don't plant it!!!
GSF - think kudzu.... Don't plant it!!!
All this reminds me of the couple of pop corn trees I planted. 2-3 years later after I dug the stump up I still had shoots popping up. Thanks folks, I'll probably crawfish on this one. I'm in a pretty good area anyway.
the only way i have seen gardeners control bambo is by placing a 3/4 thick plastic barrier to deapth of 5 feet around the bambo planted with 10 inches out of the ground to keep the stuff fromm running. they still had to cut off runners trying to jump the barrier. to much trouble to be worth it.
john
>What do they use or what to they expect you to use to kill it?
I think they inject it with roundup... but we don't have any around here, it's just on their list of things I have to kill...
It sells well at our state fair. Like a lot of evasive plants constant mowing keeps it in check but we also have the winter die back.
I have Japanese knotweed growing on my property. I control much of it by constant mowing. I cannot put a shovel blade into the ground where it has been growing, even after mowing for 3 years, the knots are so hard. I'm considering pasturing pigs in the area to eradicate it altogether. Don't plant it unless you are sure you want it permanently.
That might be a great idea. Let us know how it works out.
We get a good flow from it every year. Looks like used motor oil in a mason jar but if you spread it on a white plate it has a red color. I think it tastes great. I have many people ask for more. But like everyone has said not something you want to plant on land you have any plans for. There were lots of attempts to control it around here and they all failed. Seems to grow best along streams and rivers but can and will grow anywhere. Grows in very dense thickets and chokes out all other vegatation. Around here it blooms in late August and lasts about a month. The bees love it. We look forward to the knotweed bloom every year.