permaculture

[mangodance <bmn@iglou.com>]

mIEKAL aND wrote:
> If you want to break up sidewalks I highly recommend Giant Japanese Knotweed
> in the polygonum family.  It also makes great flutes, panpipes, & stirfry.
> mIEKAL


Unfortunately, I can't recommend this plant for anything.  It would be 
easier just to sledgehammer the concrete than deal with this monster 
once it gets established.  It is extremely invasive and costs many state 
huge amounts of money in eradication projects.  It totally overtakes 
native vegetation, creates fire hazards when it dies back, and is 
obliterating native riparian vegetation along huge expanses of the 
nation's waterways due to the fact that it creates deep root systems 
that fragment easily and can sprout from root (and shoot) segements.  It 
has been shown to be very resistant to eradication even after large 
scale spraying.  Unfortunately, it looks pretty and a lot of folks grow 
it as an ornamental.    Also, please keep in mind that we are not 
talking about an invasive plant due to the ability to move into impaired 
lands with little competition, this is a plant that has moved into well 
established communities and wreaked havoc.  I encourage killing this 
plant as much as possible.