FOREIGN POLICY LESSONS FROM JAPANESE KNOTWEED

JAPANESE KNOTWEED ON 9TH AND MANYPENNY...

...DITTO

Wednesday,  8:00 AM.  63 degrees F, wind WSW, calm at present but with occasional moderate gusts.  The sky had been clear but it is rapidly clouding over, high altitude white and gray clouds blowing in at a good clip.  The humidity is still high at 93%, and the decks and grass are soaking wet. The barometer has increased some, to 29.9".  It will probably be a pleasant day, with a chance of a shower.

    I have written pretty extensively about the Japanese knotweed, locally known as elephant ears (because of their huge, elongated, heart-shaped leaves) so this is just an update on the popuation in Bayfield.  There are two rather similar species, Polygonum sachalinense and Polygonum cuspidatum which often hybridize, so exactly what we have here is probably a tossup, but most of the plants have leaves that look like the former species.  In habit they are virtually the same.  They are a deeply tap rooted, very aggressive perennial rather like the Kudzu vine of the South.  Once established they are almost impossible to kill.  If it weren't so aggressive it could be considered quite beautiful, especially in bloom, and it was once planted for erosion control on badly eroded ravines, which is how it got to Bayfield in the first place.  Use the blog search engine to read what I have written previously.
   We had a disastrous flood in 1942 because of deforestation of the ravines and their watersheds, and the Japanese knotweed was planted to hold the banks.  It has done an excellent job of that, rather too good in fact, as it readily spreads from the ravines elsewhere.   Since it is an non-native invasive plant there has been a campaign, led by the State of Wisconsin, to eradicate it, and "swat teams" from the DNR have swooped in to spray patches of it from time to time.
   The very healthy patches of Japanese knotweed pictured above have been sprayed with the strongest of 2, 4, 5-T herbicides to little avail.  About as effective as lobbing a few missiles at Syria, if I can draw that analogy.  Actually it is a rather good analogy, since if we eliminate the knotweed we have no idea what if anything will take its place, even though the experts tell us it will be replaced by native vegetation.  Which evidently didn't hold the ravine banks in the past.
   When going to war, with nations or with plants, it is best to have a comprehensive plan of action, including a pretty good idea of what the final outcome will be.  Without a plan we usually end up with an expensive failure.   The President and his administration are obviously making up foreign policy as they go along.  I invite them to come to Bayfield to learn a lesson from our Japanese knotweed.