Sadly not, it just ‘plays dead’ above ground.

In the Autumn the leaves turn yellow and drop, the green canes with their distinctive purple speckles turn brown, brittle and inert. Gradually, over months or years, these dead canes will decompose. However, before you can say ‘Spring sunshine’ new shoots appear amidst these tall brown canes to cause more havoc. See our Japanese knotweed pictures gallery on our website.

Dead winter cane material is still classed as ‘controlled waste’ so it’s an offence to put it in a green waste bin or allow it to be transported off-site, unless by a licenced carrier. So, if you’d rather not wait months for it to decompose naturally, or you need help, advice or any knotweed removing, please let us know.

It’s all about the roots. The roots and rhizome simply hibernate deep underground in winter. They rest, ready to make a dramatic come-back in the Spring.

Here at Knotweed HQ the Environet team are as busy as ever. We carry on killing knotweed 364 days a year, (we’re usually allowed Christmas Day off). We carry on through the winter months performing large scale excavations using our patented Xtract™ method, (patented in 7 countries don’t you know), for developers and house-builders. We clear sites and issue insurance backed Guarantees, uniquely backed by an A-rated insurer, so construction work can proceed unhindered by the dreaded superweed. Can you believe far too many developers are still paying a fortune to send knotweed and tonnes of perfectly good soil to deep landfill?! There’s a better and more cost-effective way! (Call us – we can help).

In gardens up and down the land we carry out Resi-Dig-Outs, install root barriers to prevent encroachment, advise neighbours how to work together, with us, to defeat this nuisance. We provide our A-rated insurance backed guarantees so houses can be sold and everyone can live happily ever after.

Knotweed doesn’t go away this winter and we don’t slow down. We simply employ different tactics.