Outside of fictional works like The Day of the Triffids and Little Shop of Horrors, very few plants inspire as much dread as Japanese knotweed. This invasive weed has caused countless headaches for homeowners all over the UK, devaluing affected properties by 10 per cent on average.

And yet, as we've discussed before on this blog, Japanese knotweed is barely a problem at all in its native land. While the plant is still considered a weed in Japan, it does not have anything like the toxic reputation it has in this part of the world.

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If you're thinking about redesigning your garden, you might be wondering how you can strip your garden back and start a-fresh. Shrubs, like trees, become well established in your garden over time, their roots run deep into the ground and they can grow up to several metres in height and width. If you'd like to get rid of your unwanted shrubs, you're in the right place. We'll talk you through the removal process step by step so you can start working towards the garden of your dreams.

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SHORT ANSWER: Japanese knotweed flowers are usually white, but dwarf Japanese knotweed - a related species - sometimes grows pink flowers. Additionally, there are several other pink-flowered plants that are commonly mistaken for Japanese knotweed.

Japanese knotweed can be identified by a number of distinctive characteristics: the bamboo-like stems, the heart-shaped leaves, and the clusters of flowers that appear in late summer.

These flowers are quite small, and they're usually white or cream in colour.

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If you're a keen gardener, you probably know that plants are capable of reproducing in numerous different ways. Most commonly, plants reproduce using seeds, but some species propagate a different way - by producing bulbils. 

What are bulbils?

Bulbils are small nodules that appear on stem of an existing plant, sometimes in place of a flower. These nodules contain the exact same genetic material as the parent plant, so put simply, bulbils are a clone of their parents! This form of reproduction is asexual, so the plant didn't need to be fertilised by the pollen on a passing bee in order to create offspring.

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Disposing of Japanese knotweed is a delicate business. One must be extremely careful when handling this invasive weed - even a tiny fragment of its hardy rhizome root system can grow into a whole new plant if returned to the soil.

For this reason, there are a lot of rules about what you can and can't do with Japanese knotweed after digging it up. If you allow the plant to spread into the wild, you may be fined thousands of pounds or even imprisoned (see Japanese Knotweed Law).

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