Bursting with 'promise'

Taken before the recent frosts, Himalayan balsam busy securing its foothold in the Milton - Culloden area. We'll hopefully start tackling this problem next year. Any volunteers?

Pampas grass

Has anyone noticed spread of pampas grass Cortaderia selloana We have a couple of places local to here where it has escaped but I wonder if it a widespread problem. I only ask because whilst invasive surfing on the DAISIE website (European invasive species project) it was listed as one of the top one hundred invasives in Europe. Is this another there but not noticed species?

.one afternoon driving along the estate roads and what did I find but a rare pampas flowering gorse..........an invasives joke by one of the estate residents here perhaps? Who knows

Two for £8...bargain?!

Look what I came across on sale in Lidl...Rhododenderon...there is no information on the label about what variety it is but from the picture it looks alot like ponticum don't you think???

Himalayan knotweed as bad as Japanese knotweed?

I have recently discovered quite substantial stands of Himalayan knotweed near to the river Blackwater, along the way I discovered a house which is obviously inhabited by a builder of some sort and had recently done some building work of their own...I wonder do they realise what this plant is poking up from their building soil?!?! I found out that the house a mere 200 m downstream was the son to this household and guess what was in his back yard too! Classic example of spreading through top soil. Can anyone tell me if Himalayan knotweed presents the same danger to building work as Japanese knotweed???

Highland Invasive Species Forum

The Forum had a good turn-out for its annual meeting. After an indoor session in Marybank hall, we ventured out into the rain. In the woods at Fairburn, we viewed the results of an ongoing project (run by Cromarty Firth Fishery Trust) to remove Rhododendron ponticum and got a wee taste of lever-and-mulch from Gordon French.