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How to recognise Japanese knotweed

What it looks like through the year, and the plants most often mistaken for it in Salford gardens.

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Red Japanese knotweed shoots in spring — Spring: red shoots

Japanese knotweed in summer leaf — Summer: full leaf

Surveyor checking a knotweed stand — Not sure? Send a photo

Spring

From April, red-purple shoots appear with tightly rolled leaves. They can add several centimetres in a single day.

Summer

Dense growth to two or three metres. Stems are hollow and flecked purple, kink at every node and carry shield-shaped leaves with a flat base.

Autumn

Sprays of small cream flowers open in late summer. Then the leaves yellow and fall.

Winter

Only dead canes remain, brown, hollow and brittle. The rhizome below ground is still alive.

Look-alikes

Bindweed twines round other plants. Dogwood has woody stems and curved leaf veins. Himalayan balsam has pink flowers and favours riverbanks, which is why it is often found on the Irwell. A photo to us sorts it out.

The short answers

In brief

What does Japanese knotweed look like?

Hollow, bamboo-like stems with purple or red speckles, growing in a zig-zag from node to node. Leaves are shield or heart-shaped with a flat base, up to about 14cm long. Plants reach 2 to 3 metres in summer.

What does knotweed look like in spring?

Red or purple asparagus-like shoots with rolled-back leaves appear from April. They can grow several centimetres a day.

What does knotweed look like in winter?

The leaves drop and the canes die back to brown, hollow, brittle stems that often stay standing through winter. The rhizome underground is still alive.

What is commonly mistaken for Japanese knotweed?

Bindweed, Russian vine, dogwood, lilac, houttuynia and Himalayan balsam are frequent look-alikes. Bindweed twines around other plants; knotweed stands on its own stems.

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What happens next

Knotweed surveyWe come out, confirm the plant, measure it and report on it.Free knotweed ID from a photoSend a photo and we tell you what it is. No charge.Knotweed plan for mortgages and salesThe management plan lenders and buyers ask to see.Knotweed from next doorEvidence of where it is and where it is heading.Knotweed spraying programmeHerbicide treatment across several seasons, with return visits.Knotweed excavationTaking out the stand and rhizome when time is short.Knotweed root barrierAn upright membrane that stops rhizome crossing a boundary.Knotweed on development landSurveys and removal for Salford sites and plots.Knotweed for landlordsSurveys and treatment for rented houses and blocks.

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