Volunteers Work to Remove the Japanese Knotweed

Thank you to the Charles River Conservancy and to volunteers from BU, Northeastern and the community for their work Saturday morning at the park. They worked to get rid of the very invasive Japanese knotweed along the shoreline without using herbicides. As part of Phase II-2 park improvements, the shoreline will be replanted with native grasses. But first, we must get rid of the knotweed! The idea came from here.

Volunteers cut down the knotweed and installed steel mesh to discourage the knotweed’s growth. Here’s the hope: when the knotweed grows its dominant shoot, it will meet the steel mesh, causing the shoot to branch, inhibiting its growth, and, we hope, depleting the rhizome.  It’s worth a try…