The authors studied the ability of narrow-leaved fireweed (ivan-tea) plants to form a second slope in the conditions of the North-Western region of the Russian Federation. It has been established that the intensive use of willow-tea herbage leads to the appearance of other types of herbs in it, mainly cereals, which blacken and compact the soil. As a result of this process, the shoot-producing capacity of the roots of the narrow-leaved fireweed and, as a result, the yield of the plantation decreases.