Himalayan Balsam

Himalayan balsam is a hardy weed, which can flourish in even low levels of light, with explosive seed pods, dispersing up to 800 seeds up to 20 feet away, the weed can spread fast and kill off all surrounding vegetation.

It is mainly found along rivers, however can also appear in gardens, whether planted or not. Due to the location along the water, often chemical control process requires professional contractors to undertake and it may take a few seasons to eradicate using this method.

In 2017, the Telegraph reported on the issue of the spreading of this weed, moving away from water to verges and hedgerow where the speed on spreading will only increase, helped by walkers - as the seed can travel on humans to new locations. It is a widespread problem throughout Great Britain which urgently needs to be tackled to avoid reducing the pollination of native plants further.

A recommended method of getting rid of this plant is to rip it out, including the shallow roots, and burn all of the waste, including the seeds - which can germinate even once the plant has been killed. This can still take a couple of years to completely wipe out the weed, but by getting rid of the seeds along with the plant waste in an incinerator you are reducing the spreading and containing the problem.

Further reading

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=480 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/06/27/himalayan-balsam-now-widespread-needs-tackling View our range of general incinerators that can be used for the destruction of invasive plants.

Also on the Blog: Invasive Plant Species in the UK