Is this japanese knotweed?

My wife watched a TV programme the other days and is not panicing that the neighbours bush is japanese knotweed, bits are growing up in my garden and ive just been taking the saw to them, can anyone help on identication?

 

should read.... my wife is now panicing..

 

Looks like bamboo to me.

 

No, it definitely isn't knotweed. I'm with Mandy - what you have there is bamboo. Knotweed has stems which look a bit like bamboo, but they're green and die down in the winter. The leaves are heart-shaped, rather than the narrow elongated ones your picture shows.

 

This is knotweed.



This is growing over the lane from my property.
The French don't seem so worried about it. It has been growing in the verges for the 6 years we've been here and doesn't seem any larger. It gets cut to the ground when they do the verges.

 

Yes looks like Bamboo... it can be quite invasive. My neighbours have a huge bamboo just the other side of the fence and I have decided if it comes over my side I might poison it though I'd be interested to see whether anyone else has ways of dealing with unwanted bamboo invasions!

 

If it was my garden i would sink concrete gravel boards into the ground below the fence panel leaving half inch exposed. Most bamboos creep along quite shallow in the ground and when they hit something solid like a gravel board they will start to come up but at least they will not come up on your side.
It may sound like a drastic thing to do (depends on how much you don't want the invader) but some bamboos are a nightmare like that and if you start poisoning it you might end up having ructions with your neighbour :OUCH:.
I had a really nice bamboo in my garden but had to dig it up this year because it started creeping into one of my borders and i can't be doing with that.
The easier option is to just be watchful and when you see one coming up, trace it back to the fence, cut it and pull it. (Wear good gloves when pulling though cos it will tear your hands if you aren't careful.) That is something you will always have to be doing though.

 

Pseudosasa Japonica bamboo.

A runner.

 

Definitely a bamboo; if it was Knotweed........then move house.......just joking :D, but it is one of them mega invasive alien plants that requires a LOT of getting rid of.....

 

"if it was Knotweed........then move house." Lol!
When bought this place the whole bottom of the garden was filled with knotweed :(
Took me about 3 years to totally get rid of it. Dug 30ft x 10ft of soil down to 2ft and sieved the whole lot. Including the 3 main clumps we got 3 builders bags of root out. The next two springs/summers was going out every few days with a tiny paintbrush and some deep root mixture and painting it on every little bit that came up. Still can't believe i won the war.

 

thats very much for all the replies, its put out mind at rest