Leicester Overrun With ‘Thug’ Weed

It was discovered that the non-native weed the Royal Horticultural Society dubbed a ‘thug’ has taken over 200 sites in Leicester. This plant is the Japanese Knotweed and is extremely hard to get rid of – taking 3 to 4 seasons in a lot of cases to be completely removed from gardens. It can come up through tarmac, concrete and is even appearing on the inside of homes in Leicester.

A Leicester Council Spokesperson said “If the problem is not dealt with, we can issue a notice through our city warden team, but this is a last minute resort. First we ask the home/landowner to work with us to clear up the problem.”

City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, has got a lot more to say about the matter however, having struggled with removing the pesky plant himself:

Have you got to do some weeding this week?

Whether you are removing Japanese Knotweed or not, here are some helpful garden waste guidelines.

Japanese Knotweed itself cannot be composted, as it can resprout from a tiny stem. The council stipulates that you must either incinerate this weed at home, or take it to a licensed landfill site. Composting is great for other plant waste, however.

If you are planning some gardening then you should think about purchasing some good quality garden waste sacks and a suitable garden waste bin. If you make your own compost, this can be really beneficial to your garden and garden soil. However, if not, there are many garden waste collections you can use. These collections collect your waste for a small fee and turn it into compost or soil conditioner to be used elsewhere.