Francis Hickenbottom’s Nature Notes.
20th August 2009
When my home town of Hemsworth became a “Tesco town” recently, the local primary school was demolished to make way for the new store and a new school was built. Alongside the school there is a footpath and a cycle track. The area alongside the track was seeded with grass.
When the grass began to grow, the usual perennial weeds, such as docks and spear thistle, also started to appear. Rather than mowing the grass, the local local authority sprayed it with weedkiller and the result was interesting: the grass , the docks and the thistles were all killed but hundreds of seedlings of Himalayan balsam survived.
Himalayan balsam isn’t a native plant and has is, in fact, become a real problem in some areas. However, the plant is attractive and the ripe seed pods, which burst open, flinging seeds everywhere, when touched provide entertainment for children.
Weeks after the weedkiller was applied, there is virtually no regrowth of grass and other plants, but there is a mass of flowering balsam which gives off a very sweet smell. One thing which does cause problems for the balsam is hot weather, which causes the plants to wilt. I think the site is a little drier than those usual preferred by Himalayan balsam.