Japanese knotweed has a number of identifying features that make it stand out from the shrubbery, no matter what the time of year.
As it starts to regrow in the spring (up to 2cms a day), look out for bamboo-like, reddish stems and leaves. The leaves turn green as the plant establishes itself - you can then compare it to our identification sheet. Look carefully at the leaf shape, pattern of leaves along a stem and colour of main stem.
If you have identified some Japanese knotweed the first thing you need to remember is, even though there are clear rules on how you must deal with it, it is not illegal to have it on your land.
Don't panic - there are many ways to stop it becoming an issue. JPA recommends taking more than one approach to dealing with it - for the full story see our technical paper http://www.jp-associates.co.uk/the-jp-associates-knowledge-hub/technical-papers/knotweed-the-definitive-guide/.
This ID sheet is available to download from our technical papers. http://www.jp-associates.co.uk/the-jp-associates-knowledge-hub/technical-papers/japanese-knotweed-id-sheet/
