Fighting Himalayan Balsam

Once again Himalayan Balsam (HB) is proliferating on Hell Wath, and once again FOHW is calling upon all volunteers and visitors to help control this invasive species of plant. It may look pretty in flower, but only by clearing HB can we stop it crowding out our native species of wildflowers

FOHW is organising regular group sessions to clear balsam from designated areas every Wednesday and Saturday morning from 1st July throughout the summer (see our Forthcoming Events for details). We are also encouraging every visitor to Hell Wath to find, pull up and crush the roots of 5 HB plants every time they visit Hell Wath. Every HB plant that flowers and matures to seed produces over 800 seeds. The trigger mechanism of the seed pods can ping seeds up to 7meters and each seed can stay viable in the ground for two years – so every HB plant pulled up really helps in the fight !

You can find a map with the major areas of HB growth here. The yellow arrows set out the main areas we cleared last year and these will be focus of our efforts in 2026 (although some clearance is expected to take place outside of these areas too).

We are also working with North Yorkshire Council and CABI to monitor the applications of natural rust that were applied to HB in a couple of locations on Hell Wath. Once a rust application has become established in the HB population it remains in leaf litter over winter and infects seedlings in Spring. The rust has two effects: it reduces the number of Spring seedlings that survive to grow into mature plants, and weakens plants that do mature so they do not crowd out native species. A formal assessment of the effect of the rust on Hell Wath will be carried out in September,