The "Scourge of Himalayan balsam".

[peterbees]

I send a weekly email newsletter round our village, Rowen in Snowdonia, North Wales. I've been asked to circulate the message below from a resident.
I want to include the views of beekeepers, because Himalayan Balsam is a very important late season nectar and pollen source for our bees. I'd welcome your thoughts!


"The scourge of the Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)

It seems timely to appeal to residents to keep a vigil out for the invasive Himalayan Balsam in your garden or on your land. It has spread rapidly around here in recent years, largely as a result of people finding the pink flowers and later explosive seeds rather attractive and sowing the seeds in their gardens, and it is now widely distributed along local rivers and damp hedgerows and places. It outgrows and smothers our native species and is a scourge that should be eliminated wherever it occurs. The Snowdonia National Park is very concerned about its spread.

It is an annual and the seedlings are now busily growing rapidly. This is a time when the plants can most easily be eradicated. When it is fully grown the best way to get on top of it is slashing or balsam bashing before seed formation. But the stem has to be cut below the first node otherwise it just bounces back into growth. An intact mature uprooted plant can carry on happily producing seeds too. Sheep seem to eat it but the stunted plants still produce flowers and seed.

So please get out there and do your bit to prevent this foreign invader from spreading even further".

 

[Erichalfbee]

I understand the concern where Balsam causes a problem with erosion but in your back garden? There is plenty here but nobody bothers about it. Get rid if you want but leave alone if you want. Does that make sense?

 

[Anduril]

Luckily the farmers leave it alone for me, they are more sympathetic and it doesn't have an adverse effect on their land.

 

[colinc]

Screen grab from gov.uk
No fine or order to control it if you have it just illegal to allow it to spread or if you are caught spreading it.


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[Amari]

Screen grab from gov.uk
No fine or order to control it if you have it just illegal to allow it to spread or if you are caught spreading it.
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The analogy could be generic oxalic acid: Nice but naughty.

 

[REDWOOD]

You will never radiate it completely, I've seen the council spray knot weed and a couple of years later it's back. All we can do is control it the best we can


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[colinc]

The "Scourge of Himalayan balsam".

You will never radiate it completely, I've seen the council spray knot weed and a couple of years later it's back. All we can do is control it the best we can


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One of our local NT properties has a lovely stand of knotweed next to their ornamental lakes.......go figure.


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[Erichalfbee]

It makes quite sought after red honey....knotweed, that is

 

[SDM]

You will never radiate it completely, I've seen the council spray knot weed and a couple of years later it's back. All we can do is control it the best we can


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Knotweed is a very different beast. Quite simply if you stop balsam from seeding it's gone.
I've helped clear it from 3 areas locally that have been clear 3 or 4 yrs now.
My bees are mostly on ssi sites. It's the last thing i want to see growing.

 

[thorn]

Four years ago it was the HB that gave my colonies sufficient to get them into the Autumn. It was a very bad September.

 

[wendyt]

May i ask what's wrong with Himalayan balsam? We are surrounded with it around our own stream/fields and last year was the source of my bees yummy honey.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Highly overrated plant as far as bees are concerned.
It will never be eradicated but it makes sense to control it - can cause serious erosion if it turns up in the wrong place.
Spraying it is fairly pointless - the only way is cutting it back constantly so it doesn't flower. Having a five year seed bank in the ground this may take a while if well established.
A very serious problem in some areas and can cause serious ecological damage.

 

[maddydog]

My bees are mostly on ssi sites. It's the last thing i want to see growing.

No objections to managed honey bees on ssi land?

 

[SDM]

No objections to managed honey bees on ssi land?

None at all. The sites are all privately owned. SSSI land owners have an obligation to manage the land sympathetically with consideration for wildlife and geology.
I imagine natural resources Wales considers an apiary on site to be extremely conscientious management.

 

[SDM]

May i ask what's wrong with Himalayan balsam? We are surrounded with it around our own stream/fields and last year was the source of my bees yummy honey.

It out competes our native plants. As you said, you're surrounded by it.

 

[Hivemaker.]

None at all. The sites are all privately owned. SSSI land owners have an obligation to manage the land sympathetically with consideration for wildlife and geology.
I imagine natural resources Wales considers an apiary on site to be extremely conscientious management.

Some don't like the idea of keeping honey bees on SSSI sites.

I've been offered a lovely site on a SSSI by the landowner. However, this has just been stamped on by Natural England as "The honeybees will deprive bumblebees and other nectar/pollen gatherers of their food".

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=25247

 

[For want of a better word]

Highly overrated plant as far as bees are concerned.
It will never be eradicated but it makes sense to control it - can cause serious erosion if it turns up in the wrong place.
Spraying it is fairly pointless - the only way is cutting it back constantly so it doesn't flower. Having a five year seed bank in the ground this may take a while if well established.
A very serious problem in some areas and can cause serious ecological damage.

Has overwhelmed parts of the Tamar river banks.... seems to be invading the salt marsh area essential for flood control... surprised it can survive in such salty esturine conditions below the weir in the tidal zone.

Yeghes da

 

[Finman]

.
I am not going to spoil my only life it there are foreign plants in my environment. There are so much other foreign plants in nature however, which people have brought. Timothy grass is one of those.

Himalayan balsam is beautifull plant and I like it.

Many people hate dandelions and most of all willows. They are good plants too.

 

[Robbo8916]

We have loads of it round here too. All over the marshy land and about 4 miles both sides of a stream on the common. Knotweed too.

We do have some groups who go Balsam Bashing but they don't seem to realise that by doing that they help to spread the seeds and so it comes back bigger and more widespread every year. My bees love it, it is always awash with all kinds of bees and wasps when it starts to flower.

I understand the environmental consequences but it doesn't seem to be causing many problems here with the stream being manmade and the banks being reinforced with metal. It is something to do with the mines that used to be here.

 

[SDM]

Some don't like the idea of keeping honey bees on SSSI sites.

It seems NRW are more generally amenable from that post. I seem to remember one site has some newt and others wild flowers that earned them their sssi rating.
We just need to stop NRW charging for heather sites an picking the 3 weeks that you can be there in March, then maybe Wales' heather will be in better shape.