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Video: Swale Dig

Published on 23-07-2014 by Dr Paul Beckett

Digging a swale by welding a bit of sheet metal to an excavator bucket. Sometimes simple solutions are all that’s needed for apparently complex problems.

About the author: Dr Paul Beckett

Dr Paul Beckett is one of the UK’s leading experts in Japanese knotweed and is a member of the Expert Witness Institute. He regularly provides Japanese knotweed expert witness services. He helped produce the RICS knotweed guidance for surveyors and was integral in the formation of the Property Care Association (PCA) Invasive Weed Control Group (IWCG).

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Phlorum

5.0

Based on 452 reviews

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Stephen Smith

11:39 27 Jan 23

Excellent communication. I had an expert reply about a Japanese Knotweed almost immediately. Great service!

steve barton

13:06 26 Jan 23

Paul gave some sound advise after reviewing pictures of what I thought could be JN. Very informative and professional. Thanks again Paul.

Ryan Toye

15:39 10 Jan 23

Fantastic service. Paul quickly replied to my email and confirmed that the plants in the pictures do not look like Japanese Knotweed. Five stars

Stuart Armstrong

12:19 02 Nov 22

Absolutely brilliant. Dr Beckett came back to me within half an hour of me sending over my photographs and confirmed that the plant I suspected of being Japanese Knotweed was actually a Kiwi plant. Can't recommend them highly enough.

Jessica Jones

16:38 17 Oct 22

What a fantastic service. Emailed pictures of what I thought might be knotweed and within 24 hours Paul had responded confirming it was not the dreaded knotweed, he also gave me some advice and links which could help me with my problem. Thank you so much for your help and advice it’s very much appreciated. 5***** service

Michelle Robinson

16:29 30 Sep 22

Fabulous service, thank you x

Roland Amos

14:25 27 Sep 22

Pretty good same-day response - I can be at least be happy my "triffid" is not what I thought it might be!

Robert Young

22:21 31 Aug 22

took some photos of suspect plant on my phone and submitted them here for free consultation; that was in the evening, clear response next morning - not Japanese Knotweed this time! but I'll know where to come next time! great service, thanks Phlorum.

Natalie Wicks

17:15 13 Aug 22

Knotweed treatment will never be cheap but these guys are total pros. Really friendly service and responsive staff. Have done a great job so far

John Robb

16:35 09 Aug 22

Very helpful. Answered promptly a (somewhat) vague identification query. Recommend to all (also answered by a human; Paul)

Paul Labbett

10:49 27 Jul 22

The team at Phlorum were really helpful and provided advice free of charge in identifying plants as young fruit trees! Super helpful!

Bobby Barrett

07:53 26 Jul 22

Speedy response to my query with concise information provided, very informative website too. Wonderful free service

Carol Gray

20:53 25 Jul 22

I sent off some photos of plant growth I was worried might be Japanese Knotweed. Paul responded very quickly and allayed my fears. Thank you!

Adeela Saalim

13:59 25 Jul 22

Great communication and free of charge Paul from Phlorum got back to me and analysed the photos of weed in my garden and put my mind at easy that it’s ivy. Can’t recommend them enough.

ronnie davidson

10:09 25 Jul 22

Very quick response to the question that I asked first class and no waiting about great 👍

Christos Sarantopoulos

15:31 13 Jul 22

Swift and accurate service.All great!

Jim Mann

09:07 13 Jul 22

Paul got back to me very promptly and helped to put my mind at rest after discovering a potential patch of Japanese Knotweed. I also found the Phlorum website extremely useful, even finding a recipe for Japanese Knotweed crumble which, if my worst fears had been realised, I would have tried.

Tom O'Neill

12:09 05 Jul 22

Fantastically helpful and such a fast response. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend!

David Doherty

12:45 27 Jun 22

I took some pictures of a plant that I thought may be Japanese knotweed. Even though I live in the United States, Phlorum was happy to identify it for me. The Phlorum staff seem to be very concise, courteous, and professional, so that's why I'm giving them 5 stars.

Emily Rindfleisch

03:49 23 Jun 22

I recently contacted Phlorum for help identifying what seemed to be Japanese Knotweed spreading from a neighboring yard. Paul responded to my inquiry the next business day (despite me being located in the US where I would be unable to give them any business). Very grateful for the fast & free ID service provided! Now off to prepare for battle with the JK...

Steve Baker

14:38 22 Jun 22

Hannah Renier

14:33 16 Jun 22

I didn't know what the plant was on the other side of my garden wall, but it had grown to 13 feet when I took a good look and as far as I could see its leaves looked ominously like those of knotweed. My mind has been put at rest! Its odd-looking green fruit-thingies are those of a Cherry Laurel, which is poisonous, but doesn't undermine my garden wall, house or anything else. Much gratitude to Phlorum for the reassurance, which arrived very fast.

Kara Marie Lippett

09:02 16 Jun 22

Dr Paul Beckett responded to my enquiry very quickly. What a fantastic service. Thank you again.

Syavash Dehghani

09:20 14 Jun 22

I was concerned about a plant in my garden, sent some photos to Phlorum, Paul Becket replied in 30 minutes and informed me that the plant does notlook like Japanese Knotweed, it was very helpful and put my mind at ease.Kind regardsVash

ER H

18:39 09 Jun 22

A highly professional and reliable service with no 'hard sell'. They responded to my query within a matter of hours and were able to identify the weed with shovel-shaped leaves as field bindweed that no other weed encyclopedic website was able to identify. A great service.

James Paterson

12:52 01 Jun 22

Excellent service. Thank you all!

Tímea Kalderák

16:41 23 May 22

Super quick and helpful plant identification service which was also free. Highly recommended!

Dean H

09:40 23 May 22

I had concerns that a relative's property had Knotweed growing in a couple of places, and emailed a picture to Phlorum.Within 10mins Paul had emailed back with an explanation of why the plant in question could not be knotweed, and even told me what he thought it could be.After a quick google image search, it turned out that Paul was entirely correct, and the plant was Himalayan honeysuckle!Mind very much put at ease, and the service - even though he knew I wasn't in need of their paid services - was exceptional

David Witcombe

11:48 18 May 22

I'm a Building Surveyor and often consult with Phlorum to identify Japanese Knotweed from photos and with management plans. Paul and Stefan have been extremely helpful in responding to photo identification requests quickly and have been helpful in progressing any management plans with clients.

Caroline Elliott

20:39 17 May 22

I found what I thought might be Japanese Knotweed in my garden and panicked. I found Phlorum who are experts on Google and offered a service to verify if it was knotweed from a photo. Paul came back to me very quickly and fortunately it was not. He send me a link to what the weed was which put my mind at at ease. Excellent service thank you!

Susan Carsey

16:47 16 May 22

Very quick reassurance that we didn’t have Japanese Knotweed. Can’t 5hank you enough.

Car Tinley

09:18 16 May 22

Great service put my mind at reat.

Crabbier Art

18:39 12 May 22

Quick and helpful responses to my use of the free photo service. Thank you

MsSheba15 Qureshi

15:30 05 May 22

Excellent professional service. Had severe concerns of Japanese Knotweed invasion of neighbours plant which had transgressed to our side of fence . Was able toUpload a photograph to Phlorum to help identify. Responded in less than 24hrs by mail which put my mind at rest. Brilliant .

Teresa Conway

13:56 11 Apr 22

Found a suspicious growth in my garden while doing a clear up. Immediately panicked and sent some photos to Paul and his team. They quickly responded to put my mind at rest. I'm happy it wasn't knotweed but sorry that I can't give them my business after they were so helpful. Hopefully this review makes up for it!

Kris Halliwell

18:43 24 Mar 22

Fast reply. I was desperate for answers as knotweed infestation is an absolute nightmare. Fortunately I was relieved that is not my situation. I appreciate their expertise.

Alan Rodriguez Monteiro

13:06 21 Mar 22

Amazing team, very quick to reply to my email and put my mind at ease. Extremely knowledgeable. Genuine honest company. Great work and thank you

Robert Williams

13:34 21 Feb 22

We are purchasing a house with a very overgrown garden containing some suspicious looking plants. Paul was helpful, knowledgeable and reassuring.

Richard Sparks

20:52 10 Feb 22

These guys are really responsive and really on the ball! I asked them a question today about Japanese knotweed. I was worried I had it. Within less than 60 minutes I had their (negative) identification and 65 minutes some advice by email.Truly outstanding and knowledgable. They actually care! My highest recommendation without reservation. A shout out to Paul too.Thank you all!

Phil Hamilton

09:50 06 Jan 22

Very quick response to free photo service

Ellen Kendall

11:34 03 Dec 21

Very helpful, fast response with reassuring plant ID. A wonderful service!

Bernadette

13:54 24 Nov 21

This company was so helpful and kind to deal with. They provided a speedy response to my concern with a variety of knotweed growing in my garden. They also gave me a link to a very informative video, i would not hesitate in recommending them.

Martyn Gigg

20:46 21 Nov 21

Fast response and reassuring email from Paul with our query. Many thanks!

Graham Hacon

17:48 10 Nov 21

Great service correctly identified my mysterious shrub in just a few hours.

Graham

11:00 16 Oct 21

Very quick professional response to confirm a plant was Bamboo and not Japanese Knotweed. Very knowledgable team used and trusted by Chartered Surveyors

Helen Smith

15:39 15 Oct 21

The response was very quick and offered information which made me more confident in raising the knotweed issues with my neighbour.I wish Phlorum was the contractor my neighbour was using. I feel that Phlorum would be as thorough in their treatment plans as they are in responding to queries.

Dave York

11:07 13 Oct 21

Very rapid and helpful response to identify an unknown shrup which self-seeded in my garden

Qing Jiang

13:58 29 Sep 21

fast response. The information is helpful. This free service is valuable Thanks.

Christopher George

11:37 16 Sep 21

Very helpful and swift response to clarify that some potential Japanese Knotweed identified on a building survey was in fact bindweed. A huge help and very reassuring.Would recommend using Paul and team for anything to do with Japanese Knotweed.

Louise Reynolds

09:02 09 Sep 21

Really prompt and helpful plant-identifying service. Fab!

Nicole Carvill

11:25 27 Aug 21

Very impressed will the speed of response considering that this was a free service. They have out my mind at rest over what I found growing in my border! I will be telling friends, family and neighbours about Phlorum. Thanks for your help. Nicoletta Jones

Derek G

17:11 09 Aug 21

Prompt & helpful advice

Jessie Leung

16:44 06 Aug 21

Excellent and quick response to ease my mind of Japanese Knotweed panic and it looks like Dogwood instead. Phew! Thank you Paul Beckett for his service and help.

Ian

08:53 06 Aug 21

Great serviceI'm looking to purchase a property in Ireland and discovered around the property what I though might be JKN.A couple of photos send via the website and Paul confirmed that what I had seen was Dogweed. Man thanks.

Jane Effemey

16:14 05 Aug 21

Excellent service from Paul, I was worried my daughters garden was infested with Japanese Knotweed and Paul reassured me that it was in fact lilac. Very relieved as I had nightmares of thousands of pounds disappearing from their bank account not to mention years of litigation! So thankful.

H B

19:21 03 Aug 21

Super-fast, friendly, knowledgable response! Saved a perfectly innocent plant from being ripped out. Thank you Paul!

évY Dutheil

10:51 02 Aug 21

Fast efficient service

Diane McDonald

08:13 28 Jul 21

Excellent and prompt response from Paul at Phlorum. Immediately identified a weed and put my mind at rest. Without charge!

Jamie Middleditch

10:44 27 Jul 21

Paul responded to my enquiry very quickly and offered excellent advice! Highly recommended. Thank you!

Matthew Henry

08:31 25 Jul 21

Send forward some pictures for some information regarding Japanese knotweed. Send me back what I needed to know within the hour! Great service thanks again

Dawn Butterworth

14:06 23 Jul 21

I got a quick response for identification of Japanese Knotweed when I forwarded a couple of photos. Thanks for your help!

Chris

18:53 20 Jul 21

We were worried about some spreading weeds in my son's garden near Toulouse. The advice given by Phlorum based on the photos we sent were extremely helpful in allaying our fears of Japanese Knotweed and giving us a plan of remedial action. Thank you. Chris

Westley John

09:19 19 Jul 21

Great service, very helpful!

Colin Wells

12:02 18 Jul 21

Excellent response to my request to identify ( from the Picture sent ) wether or not i had Japanese knotweed growing over from my neighbours garden.Within a short while i was informed that it was not Knotweed, so now i can rest easy.Thanks again Richard.Colin

Andi Thornton

11:50 16 Jul 21

Amazing service. An elderly family member was extremely concerned about what they felt they had found in the garden, within 30 minutes, Paul was able to reassure. Top-notch and great to see such quality services offered free of charge.

Amrit Chaggar

19:07 15 Jul 21

Paul Jenkins

21:26 12 Jul 21

Very helpful, first class advise from Paul, highly recommended!

James Hume

13:11 09 Jul 21

Dr. Beckett was most helpful on initial contact. Highly recommend.

Jacqueline Downs

10:22 09 Jul 21

Fab. Responded really quickly. How good is it to have a service like this 👍

Roger Hawke

09:10 09 Jul 21

Lightning quick response...Definitely put my mind at rest. Most grateful. Will "bank" contact...as we are aware (overheard in pub) there is Japanese knotweed in our village.

john rooney

18:13 05 Jul 21

Amazing service diagnosing our “not knotweed”! We were convinced we had knotweed, two photos and an expert glance from Paul Beckett and we were diagnosed with bindweed. Paul helpfully linked us some bindweed info. We were completely reassured and wouldn’t hesitate to use again.

Andrea Kennedy

08:43 30 Jun 21

Very fast responses and advice. Thank you!

Edward Rong

08:55 25 Jun 21

Great service, fast and free identification of plants. I sent a photo of the plants and they quickly got back to me telling me that there is no Japanese knotweed.

Outspam Outspam (Outspam)

17:46 23 Jun 21

Outstanding customer service from Paul. Was so worried 1 picture and Paul put my mind at ease, within minutes. Can't thank you enough....

Navtej Singh

08:40 23 Jun 21

Sent some pictures of what I thought could possibly be Japanese Knotweed. Richard was incredibly nice to get back to me with an answer, a service that did not cost me anything and put my mind at ease. Very rare these days would recommend Richard and his team highly.

Mary Liggins

15:40 22 Jun 21

Gave a free identification of my plant as Pescaria Red Dragon and not Japanese knotweed. Replied within a few hours of my enquiry and put my mind at ease. Thank you!

Richard

10:08 17 Jun 21

Fantastic and really helpful advice from Paul. Excellent service!

Country Creative

13:31 09 Jun 21

Nice and easy process to get a plant identified, that is growing in the garden of a property we are buying: turned out to be an Abelia. Really simple and quick response to the photos from Paul Beckett earlier this year in April 2021.Thanks!

Anne Marie Kraus

18:49 07 Jun 21

Using a new phone app, I was shocked when it identified this "shrub" in my yard as Japanese knotweed. Needing immediate confirmation, I submitted photos to Phlorum, and they got back to me in a matter of hours. Unfortunately, they gave me the bad news, but knowing is much better than not knowing, and I'm grateful for this free service.

Caroline Stretton

15:38 28 May 21

Really useful services and very fast responses! Thank you so much

James Stocker

15:33 27 May 21

Had a rogue plant that looked suspicious, uploaded a photo to Phlorum via the website and got a response in under an hour.Turns out I was worried about nothing.Highly recommended.

Anwer Bati

14:56 26 May 21

I was told I had Knotweed, and was very worried. So I uploaded a couple of photos to Phlorum's website. I only had to wait a few minutes before an email came back telling me I was mistaken, and even identifying the plant in question. I was very impressed by this speed and professionalism.

uzma anwar

20:17 24 May 21

Quick/ friendly and some sound advice. Many thx!👍🏼😀

samantha m

13:00 24 May 21

Absolutely fantastic response, valuable information and links to a factsheet about the plant concerned which wasn't japanese knotweed. Highly recommend Paul and the team. So grateful to you.

christopher Pornaris

12:44 20 May 21

From my experience, Phlorum are a very knowledgeable company and respond to queries very efficiently. We used their free photo service and were very satisfied.

jabed miah

09:50 17 May 21

Very knowledgeable and responsive. Would use their services again.

Kay Elliott

18:51 12 May 21

Many thanks to Paul who responded very promptly to my email and photo. I was enormously grateful to have my mind put at rest so quickly when I managed to confuse Japanese knotweed with a cherry tree root sucker!A very valuable service .

Cole Soutter

10:28 12 May 21

Great service, super quick and super helpful

Teresa Selwyn

16:38 07 May 21

What a lovely firm. I sent a panicky photo thinking I was living next door to the dreaded Japanese Knotweed and received a reply very quickly putting my mind at rest. Excellent service and extremely professional. Definitely recommend them.

Peter Corr

15:44 07 May 21

As a damp and timber surveyor it can be very disconcerting to have to report back to the client that there are strange growths emanating from the subfloor voids, particularly when the growth resembles Knotweed, but you cant quite be certain. I sent Phlorum a photo early morning, undertook an damp inspection and received a reply on my return, the very same day. Highly efficient and very reassuring. Thank you, Phlorum.

Jeff Wesson

14:04 07 May 21

Very prompt free service to id plants and put mind at ease the Japanese knotweed as was unsure and was a listing when using a free plant of app.

jim bobby

20:24 05 May 21

Very helpful, identified a suspect plant for me from photo which has put my mind at ease. Very prompt reply too, for which I am very grateful. Thank you very much.

Laura Wade

09:50 26 Apr 21

I contacted Phlorum with a photo of some suspected Japanese Knotweed in our garden. I received a reply the following day with a link to what it was - something very similar but not the dreaded JK thank goodness. This was a free service offered by Phlorum - which was much appreciated during my panic attack! Had it been JK, then I would have asked them to help remove it for us.

Lauren Justin

12:04 15 Apr 21

Chris Gibson

05:26 15 Apr 21

Trustworthy firm. Thank you to the team for their speed and professionalism in putting my mind at ease over this plant. Dogwood not Japanese knotweed.

Suzanne Cox

10:11 14 Apr 21

Such a great service - I had convinced myself (with a sleepless night!) that I had Japanese Knotweed but after uploading some picture to Phlorum online they responded so quickly and set my mind at rest - it was bindweed and gave me a link with hints and tips... no hard sell... just very appreciated help!

Elvis

20:39 09 Apr 21

Rapid and expert plant species identification. Professional staff. Would highly recommended using their services when required.

tim smith

12:38 09 Apr 21

Similar to Martin below, we found out the people who sold us our property had knotweed removed yet failed to declare this on the T6 form during the sale. Paul got back almost straight away to allay our fears the knotweed had returned. Superb.

nancy turner

15:46 08 Apr 21

I noticed some unknown shoots coming up in the garden and was concerned they might be Japanese knotweed. Sent a couple of photos to Phlorum using their free identification service. Very relieved when Paul got back to me quickly to say they were not the evil plant - this put my mind at rest. Thanks Paul and Phlorum!

Robbie Hurst

08:59 08 Apr 21

Was a bit worried that my garden had been invaded by Japanese Knotweed so sent the attached photo over to Phlorum, Paul swiftly responded to say this was in fact Ornamental Bistort and is often mistaken for Japanese Knotweed (PHEW!). Great service and very knowledgable company. Would highly recommend!Cheers.Robbie

Phlorum - Page Content

Video: Swale Dig

About the author: Dr Paul Beckett

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