Kudzu: The Invasive Vine that Ate the South (2024)

FAQs

Why is kudzu called the vine that ate the south? ›

These attributes of kudzu made it attractive as an ornamental plant for shading porches in the southeastern United States, but they facilitated the growth of kudzu as it became a "structural parasite" of the South, enveloping entire structures when untreated and often referred to as "the vine that ate the South".

An invasive plant as fast-growing as kudzu outcompetes everything from native grasses to fully mature trees by shading them from the sunlight they need to photosynthesize.

While no longer on the Federal Noxious Weed list, kudzu is currently listed as a noxious weed in 13 states. It is estimated that kudzu may cover more than one- quarter million acres in Alabama. Kudzu has spread north into Pennsylvania and Illinois and west into Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Nebraska.

The best solutions for spot spraying are either 1 pint Tordon 101 in 4 to 5 gallons of water, or 1/2 pint Tordon K in 4 to 5 gallons of water, or 1 pint Veteran 720 in 4 to 5 gallons of water. These mixtures will be 99-percent effective when vines immediately around root crowns are sprayed to medium wetness.

Bleeding or blood clotting disorders: Kudzu might slow blood clotting. It might make bleeding and blood clotting disorders worse. Hormone-sensitive condition such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids: Kudzu might act like estrogen.

“I think most people don't use kudzu in town because of the stigma it has gotten as an invasive vine. It's also not easy to manipulate, and the yield is very low for usable raw product without refinement.” But perhaps the vine just doesn't have enough going for it to make it worth the trouble.

Learn what you can do to remove this invasive plant and make your land a thriving habitat for native plants, animals, and insects. It's no secret that there is a kudzu problem in the South. It covers the ground, buildings, trees, you name it! Kudzu crowds out native plants, greatly reducing your habitat potential.

Fresh kudzu is readily consumed by all types of grazing animals, but frequent grazing over three to four years can ruin even established stands.

One of kudzu's natural predators, the Japanese kudzu bug, arrived in the US in 2009.

Another reason it is so often loathed by Southerners is the animals that so enjoy taking refuge underneath the overlapping vines. Mainly snakes. Kudzu loves the sun, snakes like to hide from the sun during the hottest parts of the day.

How do you stop kudzu from spreading? ›

All cut plant material of Kudzu should be destroyed through burning or bagging and landfilling to prevent further spread. Conservation grazing by herbivores, mowing and moderate herbicide use are all suggested measures of controlling Kudzu.

Kudzu is especially difficult to eradicate under these situations. For some patches, prescribed burning can be used not only to reduce debris for more effective treatment but also to kill small kudzu plants and to sever tree-draped vines. Burning will kill only the very small plants.

Deer do indeed eat Kudzu, and some deer managers have planted it as food and cover for whitetails; however, it is impossible for deer to control growth. The vines tend to choke out other vegetation, even trees, and they lose their leaves during the winter.

The safest approach is to cut any kudzu vines just above the ground and immediately treat the stem with one of the recommended glyphosate herbicides using the cut stump method (figure 6). It is not effective to spray only the lower leaves on a kudzu vine when it has grown up into a tree.

Kudzu was first introduced into the United States in 1876 at the United States Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where a bazaar was built to house a plant exhibition from Japan.

Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States at the Japanese pavilion in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It was also shown at the Chicago World's Fair. It remained a garden plant until the Dust Bowl era (1930s–1940s), when the vine was marketed as a way for farmers to stop soil erosion.

It made its way to Florida at the turn of the 20th century when a planter named Charles Pleas decided to grow some kudzu near his home to provide shade, state archivists explain.

Shortly after the Centennial Exposition, Kudzu was brought directly to the South during the New Orleans exposition in 1883.

To stop new kudzu vine growth, cut just below the root crown and remove it from the soil (figure 4). Kudzu cannot regrow from below the root crown and does not sprout from lateral roots. Sometimes, vines may be buried under a few inches of organic matter and leaf litter.