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Invasive plant ID needed please
First time on here so hopefully I can find an answer.
I have just bought a new house and there is a very invasive plant covering a large area of the plot. I have attached pictures.I have tried to ID it but to no avail. Anybody have an ID for it please and tips to remove? I'm hoping it will be reasonably easy to remove but I am worried that I will have a big job on my hands.


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That looks to me like Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) - an annual weed that is relatively easy to control compared with some invasive weeds. You must cut it down now before it flowers and seeds as it is prolific and catapults its seeds over a wide area.
More info here
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=480
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That looks like it. However I see it can grow up to 2m. At the moment mine seems more like a ground cover plant, no higher than 20cm
It looks like some type of Persicaria to me. Has it got sort of knobbly spreading roots?
Yes, I'd go with a persicaria
In the sticks near Peterborough
Looking at this link
https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nonnativespecies/downloadDocument.cfm?id=33
the leaves and stem look very similar. I will have a closer look later but I think I have my culprit.
Thanks for all the help
If that's the case it will be easy to remove, they're annuals. Run a mower or strimmer over them. But be prepared to do it again as there will be more seed waiting to germinate
In the sticks near Peterborough
Hmmm... still think it's one of the Persicaria/Polygonum clan. If it's got rather tough stems and spreading roots, it's one of those and not Himalayan balsam, which is fairly soft and succulent.
and me Will
almost transluscent angular stems on the HB and shinier leaves
In the sticks near Peterborough
Himalayan balsam, Jo? It's a non-native that is very destructive of our native riverside habitats, unfortunately. I hoik out any seedlings that I come across in the wild, not that it's really possible to stop it's spread now.
I took your comment the wrong way, Jo, sorry... Damn, we need a 'blushing smiley' ;P